Interaction between mouse hepatitis virus membrane protein and heat shock protein70 (HSP70)

摘要

The membrane (M) protein of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a major structural component of virions, which seems to be a multifunctional protein involved in viral replication and budding. However, how M protein interacts with host protein remains largely elusive. To identify cellular proteins that interact with the M protein and to elucidate the possible involvement of M protein in virus replication and budding, yeast two-hybrid system assay was used. HSP70, a heat shock protein were identified as a novel interaction partner of N protein by yeast two-hybrid system. The direct interaction M protein with HSP70 was confirmed by confocal microscopy analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that MHV-M protein interacts with the heat shock protein70 (HSP70) within host cells, which might suggest that HSP70 protein may play a role in mouse hepatitis virus assembly, which enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of MHV assemble.