Nuclear export of influenza viral ribonucleoprotein is temperature-dependently inhibited by dissociation of viral matrix protein.

The influenza virus copies its genomic RNA in the nuclei of host cells, but the viral particles are formed at the plasma membrane. Thus, the export of new genome from the nucleus into the cytoplasm is essential for viral production. Several viral proteins, such as nucleoprotein (NP) and RNA polymerases, synthesized in the cytoplasm, are imported into the nucleus, and form viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) with new genomic RNA. vRNP is then exported into the cytoplasm from the nucleus to produce new viral particles. M1, a viral matrix protein, is suggested to participate in the nuclear export of vRNP. It was found unexpectedly that the production of influenza virus was suppressed in MDCK cells at 41°C, although viral proteins were synthesized and the cytopathic effect was observed in host cells. Indirect immunofluorescent staining with anti-NP or M1 monoclonal antibody showed that NP and M1 remained in the nuclei of infected cells at 41°C, suggesting that a suppression of viral production was caused by inhibition of the nuclear export of these proteins. The cellular machinery for nuclear export depending on CRM1, which mediates the nuclear export of influenza viral RNP, functioned normally at 41°C. Glycerol-density gradient centrifugation demonstrated that vRNP also formed normally at 41°C. However, an examination of the interaction between vRNP and M1 by immunoprecipitation indicated that M1 did not associate with vRNP at 41°C, suggesting that the association is essential for the nuclear export of vRNP. Furthermore, when infected cells incubated at 41°C were cultured at 37°C, the interaction between vRNP and M1 was no longer detected even at 37°C. The results suggest that M1 synthesized at 41°C is unable to interact with vRNP and the dissociation of M1 from vRNP is one of the reasons that the transfer of vRNP into the cytoplasm from the nucleus is prevented at 41°C.