Abstract
The membranes of two different serotypes of vesicular stomatitis (VS) virus were found to have higher concentrations of cholesterol and aminophospholipids than the plasma membrane of the host baby hamster kidney (BHK)-21 cells. Microviscosity of the two viral membranes, as measured by fluorescence depolarization, was also considerably greater than that of the host cell plasma membrane. Viral lipids rather than viral proteins appeared to be the principal factor contributing to greater rigidity of the viral membrane as measured by this technique. The distribution of phospholipids and fatty acids within the two layers of the membrane of VS virus was studied by means of reactivity with phospholipase C and labeling with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Not unlike the erythrocyte membrane, choline-containing phospholipids were found to reside predominantly in the outer layer of the VS viral membrane. The inner membrane layer of VS virus was composed pre-dominantly of aminophospholipids; however, phosphatidylethanolamine, the most abundant phospholipid species, was more equally distributed between the two layers of the viral membrane. The fatty acid distribution between the two layers of the VS viral membrane revealed a much greater amount of saturated fatty acids in the external monolayer and virtually all of the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the internal monolayer. Based on these data, a working model is proposed for organization of lipids in the membrane of a prototype enveloped virus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4544-4550 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Unknown Journal |
| Volume | 253 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| State | Published - 1978 |
| Externally published | Yes |