The Journal of Immunology, 2000, 165: 4528-4536.
Copyright © 2000 by The American Association of Immunologists
Novel Mechanism of Antibody-Independent Complement Neutralization of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 11
Harvey M. Friedman2,*,
Liyang Wang3,*,
Michael K. Pangburn
,
John D. Lambris
and
John Lubinski*
*
Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division and Department of Pathology and
Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104; and
Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Center, Tyler, TX 75708
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Abstract
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The envelope surface glycoprotein C (gC) of HSV-1 interferes with
the complement cascade by binding C3 and activation products C3b, iC3b,
and C3c, and by blocking the interaction of C5 and properdin with C3b.
Wild-type HSV-1 is resistant to Ab-independent complement
neutralization; however, HSV-1 mutant virus lacking gC is highly
susceptible to complement resulting in
100-fold reduction in virus
titer. We evaluated the mechanisms by which complement inhibits HSV-1
gC null virus to better understand how gC protects against
complement-mediated neutralization. C8-depleted serum prepared from an
HSV-1 and -2 Ab-negative donor neutralized gC null virus comparable to
complement-intact serum, indicating that C8 and terminal lytic activity
are not required. In contrast, C5-depleted serum from the same donor
failed to neutralize gC null virus, supporting a requirement for C5.
EDTA-treated serum did not neutralize gC null virus, indicating that
complement activation is required. Factor D-depleted and C6-depleted
sera neutralized virus, suggesting that the alternative complement
pathway and complement components beyond C5 are not required.
Complement did not aggregate virus or block attachment to cells.
However, complement inhibited infection before early viral gene
expression, indicating that complement affects one or more of the
following steps in virus replication: virus entry, uncoating, DNA
transport to the nucleus, or immediate early gene expression.
Therefore, in the absence of gC, HSV-1 is readily inhibited by
complement by a C5-dependent mechanism that does not require viral
lysis, aggregation, or blocking virus
attachment.
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Introduction
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Complement
is an important component of the innate immune system and functions as
one of the earliest host responses to viral infection. Complement
activation occurs in the presence of Ab, or for some viruses complement
activation can be independent of Ab, leading to neutralization of
cell-free virus and lysis of virus-infected cells (1, 2).
Complement activation by cell-free virus facilitates binding to
phagocytic cells (3), whereas complement activation by
infected cells promotes leukocyte attachment and cytotoxicity (4, 5). Complement serves as an important bridge between the innate
and acquired immune systems by enhancing Ag presentation to follicular
dendritic cells and B cells, leading to improved Ab responses to T
cell-dependent Ags (6, 7, 8, 9).
Viruses have evolved strategies to inhibit host defense activities
mediated by complement. Glycoprotein C
(gC)4 of HSV-1 and -2,
bovine herpes virus type 1, pseudorabies virus, and equine herpes virus
types 1 and 4 bind C3b (10, 11, 12, 13). HSV-1 gC also interferes
with the binding of C5 and properdin to C3b (14, 15, 16).
HSV-1 gC protects the virus and virus-infected cell from Ab-independent
complement neutralization and cell lysis (17, 18, 19) and
is an important virulence factor in vivo (20, 21).
Vaccinia virus complement control protein protects the virus from Ab
and complement neutralization, and functions as a virulence factor
(22, 23, 24). During replication, some viruses including
vaccinia virus, HIV, and CMV incorporate into their envelope
cell-derived regulators of complement activation that appear to protect
the virus against complement attack (25-29).
The mechanism by which complement inhibits infection of cell-free virus
in the absence of specific Abs has been determined for several viruses.
Envelope glycoproteins of some retroviruses activate complement by
binding C1q (30, 31), leading to generation of the
membrane attack complex and viral lysis (32), or to
enhanced opsonization of complement-coated virions (33, 34). Gal
1-3Gal glycosylation carbohydrates on some
retroviruses and on lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus glycoproteins
bind naturally occurring IgM Abs, resulting in complement activation
and virus neutralization (35, 36, 37). Natural Abs and
complement also neutralize vesicular stomatitis virus and Newcastle
disease virus (37). Vesicular stomatitis virus
neutralization requires natural IgM Abs directed against some undefined
Ag, other than Gal
1-3Gal (38), whereas neutralization
of Newcastle disease virus occurs totally independent of Ab
(39).
We previously reported that seronegative human serum has little effect
on neutralizing wild-type HSV-1, resulting in
2-fold reduction in
titer. However, HSV-1 mutant virus lacking gC is rapidly inhibited by
human complement, resulting in 100- to 5000-fold loss of titer, the
greater reduction occurring when fresh serum is replenished during the
assay (17). Ab is not required for complement-mediated
neutralization of gC null virus, although Ab enhances the neutralizing
activity (17, 19). We now further examine the mechanisms
by which complement neutralizes gC null virus independent of Ab and
demonstrate that C5 is required, whereas activation of the terminal
lytic components is not, and that complement blocks infection at a step
subsequent to virus attachment but before early viral gene
expression.
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Materials and Methods
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Cells and viruses
Vero and HeLa cells were grown in DMEM and 10% FBS supplemented
with 10 mM HEPES buffer solution, 2 mM L-glutamine,
and penicillin, streptomycin, and Fungizone (Life Technologies,
Rockville, MD). NS-gCnull virus lacks the entire gC protein coding
sequence (17). NS-gEnull virus, which has a deletion of gE
amino acids 124508 (40), served as a control for some
experiments. NS-gCnull and NS-gEnull viruses were derived from the
HSV-1 parental strain, NS, and have gC or gE protein coding sequences
replaced by a ß-galactosidase expression cassette under the control
of the early HSV-1 ICP6 promoter. Viruses were purified from Vero- or
HeLa-infected cell extracts on a 565% sucrose gradient as described
previously (17).
Depletion of complement components from human serum
Normal human serum (NHS) served as the source of complement and
was obtained from an adult subject who is Ab negative for HSV-1 and -2
(17). NHS was prepared from blood that was allowed to clot
at room temperature for 10 min, overnight at 4°C, and then serum was
separated, aliquoted, and stored at -70°C. To deplete complement
components, EDTA was added to a final concentration of 30 mM, and serum
was passed over an anti-C5, anti-C6, anti-C8, or
anti-factor D Sepharose column in buffer containing 100 mM sodium
phosphate, 100 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, and 0.02%
NaN3 at pH 7.4. Immunoadsorbant columns were
prepared by coupling IgG fractions of the respective monospecific sheep
or goat antiserum, prepared in one of the authors laboratories
(M.K.P.), to cyanogen bromide-Sepharose (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech,
Piscataway, NJ) at a final concentration of 10 mg of IgG/ml of gel. All
procedures were conducted on ice or at 4°C. Fractions containing
proteins were pooled and concentrated to 80% of the original serum
volume by ultrafiltration using membranes with a molecular mass cutoff
of 10,000 Da. The material was dialyzed against PBS containing 0.1 mM
EDTA to reduce EDTA concentrations and remove sodium azide, and the
volume was brought to the original volume with dialysis buffer.
Depleted sera were aliquoted and frozen at -70°C. Before use in
neutralization assays, sera depleted of complement components were
dialyzed again against PBS to remove residual EDTA. Complement-depleted
sera were replenished with C5, C6, or C8 (Sigma, St. Louis, MO) at 75
µg/ml for C5, 60 µg/ml for C6, and 80 µg/ml for C8. Factor D was
kindly provided by J. Volanakis and used at 37 µg/ml. For some
experiments, an additional method was used to deplete C8 from NHS by
treating NHS with a 1:5 dilution of rabbit anti-human C8 prepared
using purified C8 as immunogen.
Neutralization assay
Purified virus was incubated with HSV Ab-negative NHS as source
of complement, or with NHS treated with 10 mM EDTA or heated to 56°C
for 30 min to inhibit activation of the complement cascade.
Neutralization was performed using
104105 PFU of virus that
was incubated with 50% serum (final concentration) for 1 h at
37°C (17). For some experiments, serum depleted of C5,
C6, C8, or factor D was used as the source of complement. For
experiments evaluating whether natural Abs to Gal
1-3Gal are involved
in neutralization, the disaccharide Gal
1-3Gal (Sigma), or sucrose as
a control, was added at a final concentration of 5 mg/ml to the virus
and NHS mixture (37). Virus titers were determined by
plaque assay on Vero cells. Neutralization results are expressed as the
difference in titer (log10) between virus
incubated with EDTA-serum and the experimental serum.
Assays for classical complement and alternative complement pathway
hemolytic activity
Sera were tested for total hemolytic complement activity
(CH50) using Ab-sensitized sheep erythrocytes
that were prepared according to the manufacturers directions (Sigma)
and incubated with serial 2-fold dilutions of serum for 1 h at
37°C in 96-well microtiter plates (17, 41). The plate
was centrifuged for 3 min at 120 x g, the supernatant
was transferred to a fresh plate, and the extent of hemolysis was
measured by spectrophotometry at 405 nm.
Alternative complement pathway activity was measured using rabbit
erythrocytes (Cocalico, Reamstown, PA) that were washed with PBS
followed by veronal- buffered saline containing 8 mM EGTA and 2 mM
Mg2+. Erythrocytes at 2 x
106/well in a 96-well microtiter plate were
incubated with serial 2-fold dilutions of serum for 1 h at 37°C,
and the extent of hemolysis was read by spectrophotometry at 405
nm.
The affinity chromatography procedure used to deplete complement
proteins resulted in an approximate 25% dilution of serum proteins. To
account for the dilution, the total protein concentrations of
complement-depleted serum and NHS was adjusted to comparable levels as
determined by the bicinchoninic acid protein assay (Pierce,
Rockford, IL).
To determine whether Vero cells secrete C8, experiments were performed
in which conditioned medium was removed from 24-h Vero cell cultures.
The conditioned medium was concentrated 50-fold by Centricon 50
filtration (Amicon, Beverly, MA) and used to supplement C8-depleted
serum in a CH50 assay.
Virus aggregation assays
Electron microscopy.
A total of105 PFU of purified NS-gCnull
virus was incubated with an equal volume of NHS or EDTA-treated serum
for 1 h at 37°C. The virus-serum mixture was then placed on ice
until treated with 2% phosphotungstic acid (pH 6.5) and placed on a
200-mesh copper grid coated with formvar and carbon. Grids were treated
with 1 µg/ml poly-L-lysine for 1 min before use
(42).
Size of virions measured by sucrose gradient
ultracentrifugation.
Purified NS or NS-gCnull virus was labeled with
[35S]methionine and cysteine (ICN Biomedicals,
Costa Mesa, CA), incubated with NHS or EDTA-treated serum for 1 h
at 37°C, and sedimented on a 565% sucrose gradient
(20). Fractions of 0.5 ml were collected and radiolabeled
counts were determined in each fraction.
Virus attachment assays
NS-gCnull virus was radiolabeled with
[35S]methionine and cysteine,and purified on a
565% sucrose gradient (20). Virus was incubated for
1 h at 37°C with NHS or serum that was heat inactivated for 30
min at 56°C and then added to Vero cells at 4°C for 16 h. Heat
treatment was used to inactivate complement to avoid dislodging the
cell monolayer with EDTA. Cells were washed with PBS, removed
using virion lysis buffer [10 mM Tris (pH 8.0), 10 mM EDTA, and 0.25%
Triton X-100], and placed in Ecolume (ICN Biomedicals) scintillation
fluid. The percent bound counts was calculated as [counts bound to the
monolayer/total counts added] x 100%.
Assays for early gene expression
A total of 104 NS-gCnull, or NS-gEnull
virus as a control, was incubated for 1 h at 37°C with 50% NHS
or NHS heated to 56°C for 30 min. Virus was added to Vero cells in
48-well plates for 1 h at 37°C, washed with PBS, and cells were
assayed for ß-galactosidase expression at 20 h postinfection by
adding 20% Nonidet P-40 to 300 µl of media, mixing by pipeting, and
replacing 100 µl of media with
chlorophenol-ß-D-galactopyranoside monosodium salt (Roche
Diagnostic Systems, Indianapolis, IN) (43). The 20-h time
point was chosen based on pilot experiments in which samples were
assayed beginning 5 h postinfection. At the low multiplicity of
infection used in these experiments (0.05 PFU/cell), ß-galactosidase
expression was detected at 5 h; however, levels were considerably
greater by 20 h. For some experiments, Vero cells, rather than
virus, were incubated with 50% NHS or heat-inactivated NHS for 1
h at 37°C, washed, and infected with NS-gCnull or NS-gEnull virus at
an infection ratio of 1 PFU of virus/cell for 1 h at 37°C. The
inoculum was removed by washing and ß-galactosidase expression was
measured 20 h after infection. Results are expressed as percent
ß-galactosidase expression comparing virus or cells treated with
active complement vs inactive complement.
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Results
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C8 is not required for neutralization of HSV-1 gC null virus
We previously reported that HSV Ab-negative NHS inhibits infection
by gC null virus while having little affect on wild-type virus;
therefore, gC null virus was used to evaluate the mechanisms of
complement-mediated neutralization (17, 21). C8 is
required for pore formation and generation of the terminal lytic
complex (44). Experiments were performed using C8-depleted
serum to assess the importance of complement-mediated viral lysis.
Depletion of C8 resulted in loss of NHS hemolytic activity, which was
restored by reconstituting with C8 (Fig. 1
A). NHS neutralized gC null
virus 1.4 log10. The somewhat lower
neutralization than previously reported (
2
log10) (17) can be explained by the
dilution of NHS to adjust total protein concentrations to match those
of complement-depleted sera. Comparable neutralization results were
obtained using C8-depleted serum or C8-depleted serum restored using
physiologic C8 concentrations (Fig. 1
B). These results
suggest that neutralization of gC null virus does not require C8,
membrane pore formation, or viral lysis.

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FIGURE 1. A, Total hemolytic complement activity of NHS, the same
serum depleted of C8, and C8-depleted (C8D) serum reconstituted with
physiologic concentrations of C8. Depleting C8 leads to loss of
hemolytic activity, whereas replacing C8 restores hemolytic activity to
wild-type levels. B, Neutralization of gC null virus
using sera shown in A. Each serum resulted in comparable
levels of neutralization. Results shown represent the difference in
titer (log10) comparing NHS, C8- depleted serum, or
C8-depleted serum + C8 with the same sera treated with EDTA. NHS was
diluted to contain total protein concentrations comparable to
C8-depleted serum. NHS is the average of two determinations, C8
depleted and C8 depleted + C8 are the mean and SEM of three
determinations.
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One potential explanation for the C8-depleted serum result is that Vero
cells used in the neutralization assay may synthesize C8 and replenish
this missing factor (45). To evaluate for this
possibility, Vero cell-conditioned medium was harvested, concentrated
50-fold, and added to C8-depleted serum to determine whether hemolytic
activity was restored. This treatment had no effect on hemolytic
activity. As further proof that C8 is not required, NHS was incubated
with anti-C8 Ab. This Ab reduced the hemolytic activity of serum
(CH50 titer < 1:2), yet it did not block
complement neutralization mediated by C8-depleted serum. These results
indicate that C8 is not required for complement neutralization of gC
null virus.
C5 is required for neutralization of gC null virus
We previously reported that C4 is required for Ab-independent
complement neutralization of gC null virus (17). The high
concentrations of C3 in NHS make it difficult to deplete C3; therefore,
we next evaluated whether C5 is required. The
CH50 of C5-depleted NHS was <1:2. Hemolytic
activity was restored when C5 was replenished to physiologic
concentrations (Fig. 2
A). gC
null virus was incubated with NHS, C5-depleted serum, or
C5-reconstituted serum (Fig. 2
B). The C5-depleted serum was
significantly impaired in its ability to neutralize gC null virus
(p < 0.002 comparing C5 depleted and NHS;
p < 0.004 comparing C5-depleted and C5-depleted +
C5-replenished serum), indicating that C5 is required. C5 is present in
EDTA-treated serum, yet this serum is not capable of neutralizing gC
null virus; therefore, complement activation and cleavage of C5 are
required for neutralization. The fact that C5-depleted serum
neutralized gC null virus
0.5 log10 (3-fold)
suggests that C1, C4, C2, and C3 have some neutralizing activity even
in the absence of C5.

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FIGURE 2. A, Total hemolytic complement activity of NHS, the same
serum depleted of C5, and C5-depleted (C5D) serum replenished with
physiologic concentrations of C5. Depleting C5 results in loss of
hemolytic activity, whereas replenishing C5 restores hemolytic
activity. B, Complement neutralization mediated by sera
shown in A. C5-depleted serum has reduced neutralizing
activity compared with NHS or C5 depleted + C5 serum. Results shown
represent the difference in titer (log10) comparing NHS,
C5-depleted serum, C5-depleted serum + C5 with the same sera treated
with EDTA. NHS was diluted to contain protein concentrations comparable
to C5-depleted serum. Each serum is the mean and SEM of three
determinations.
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C6 is not required for neutralization of gC null virus
The CH50 of C6-depleted serum was <1:2,
which was restored using physiologic concentrations of C6 (Fig. 3
A). Neutralization assays
with C6-depleted and C6-replenished sera demonstrated that C6 is not
required for neutralization of gC null virus (Fig. 3
B).
Along with results using C5-and C8-depleted sera, the findings indicate
that complement components beyond C5 (C6 through C9) are not essential
for neutralization of gC null virus.

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FIGURE 3. A, Total hemolytic complement activity of NHS, the same
serum depleted of C6, and C6-depleted (C6D) serum replenished with
physiologic concentrations of C6. Depleting C6 resulted in loss of
hemolytic activity, whereas replenishing C6 restored hemolytic
activity. B, Complement neutralization assays
demonstrate that C6-depleted serum retains neutralizing activity.
Results shown represent the difference in titer (log10)
comparing NHS, C6-depleted serum, C6-depleted serum + C6 with the same
sera treated with EDTA. NHS was diluted to contain protein
concentrations comparable to C6-depleted serum. Each serum is the
average of two determinations.
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Alternative pathway complement activation is not required for
neutralization of gC null virus
The alternative complement pathway was inactivated by depleting
factor D. Fig. 4
A shows that
alternative pathway hemolytic activity of factor D-depleted serum was
<1:2, which was restored when factor D was replenished. Fig. 4
B demonstrates that factor D-depleted serum is capable of
neutralizing gC null virus, indicating that participation of the
alternative complement pathway is not essential.

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FIGURE 4. A, Alternative pathway hemolytic activity of NHS, the
same serum depleted of factor D, and factor D-depleted (D depl.) serum
replenished with factor D. Depleting factor D resulted in loss of
alternative pathway hemolytic activity, while replenishing factor D
restored hemolytic activity. B, Complement
neutralization assays demonstrate that factor D-depleted serum retains
neutralizing activity. Results shown represent the difference in titer
(log10) comparing NHS, factor D-depleted serum, or factor
D-deleted serum + factor D with the same sera treated with EDTA. NHS
was diluted to contain protein concentrations comparable to factor
D-depleted serum. Each serum is the average of two
determinations.
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Naturally occurring Abs to Gal
1-3Gal disaccharides on the virus
are not required
Several viruses, including some retroviruses and lymphocytic
choriomeningitis virus, are neutralized by complement in the absence of
specific Abs; however, naturally occurring Abs to Gal
1-3Gal
disaccharides on the virus are required for complement-dependent virus
neutralization (36, 37, 39, 46). Two approaches were taken
to evaluate the role of Gal
1-3Gal Abs in gC null virus
neutralization. First, virus was purified in HeLa cells, which do not
express a functional
13-galactosyltransferase enzyme needed to add
Gal
1-3Gal onto glycoproteins or glycolipids (37).
Although neutralization was somewhat less for HeLa-derived virus than
Vero-derived virus (Fig. 5
A),
complement neutralized virus grown in HeLa cells, indicating that Ab to
Gal
1-3Gal is not required. Second, Gal
1-3Gal was added to the
neutralization reaction to competitively inhibit naturally occurring
Abs to Gal
1-3Gal, if present. The Gal
1-3Gal disaccharide did not
inhibit gC null virus neutralization, since results were similar when
sucrose or no disaccharide inhibitor was used as controls (Fig. 5
B). These results suggest that naturally occurring Abs to
Gal
1-3Gal are not involved in neutralization of gC null virus.
Complement does not aggregate gC null virus
The results indicate that virus neutralization requires complement
activation that includes C5, but not C6 or C8, and that an intact
alternative complement pathway is not essential. We evaluated whether
complement activation results in virus aggregation, since large
aggregates could lower virus titers measured in a plaque assay because
each aggregate would score as one virus particle. Purified gC null
virus was incubated with NHS or EDTA-treated serum as a control and
examined by scanning electron microscopy for viral aggregates. The
largest aggregates detected are shown in Fig. 6
and contained seven or fewer virus
particles. Most virus particles seen by electron microscopy were not
aggregated. Importantly, no differences were noted between NHS and
EDTA-treated serum. This number of particles, even in the largest
aggregates, is too few to explain the approximate 25-fold (1.4
log10) reduction in titer detected following
neutralization with diluted NHS (
Figs. 14


) or the 100-fold (2.0
log10) reduction seen when NHS is used undiluted
(Ref. 17 ; Fig. 5
), as it was in this experiment.

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FIGURE 6. Electron microscopy showing HSV-1 gC null virus incubated with NHS
(A) or EDTA-treated serum (B). The
largest aggregates detected on the grid are shown. A similar number and
size of aggregates were detected when virus was incubated with either
serum, indicating that virus aggregation does not account for NHS
neutralizing activity.
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To further evaluate for complement-induced viral aggregation,
radiolabeled purified wild-type virus, NS, or gC null virus was
incubated with NHS or EDTA-treated serum, and the position of virus
bands was determined on a 565% sucrose gradient. Aggregates should
increase the size of the particles, resulting in a shift of
radiolabeled counts toward the bottom of the gradient (higher
fraction numbers). For these experiments, we compared NS with
NS-gCnull virus so that we would be controlling for the effects that
complement may have on virus sedimentation because of coating the
virus. Small differences were detected comparing the two viruses;
however, the differences were in the opposite direction than expected
for aggregation, with a shift in NS-gCnull virus counts toward the top
of the gradient (Fig. 7
A).
When both viruses were incubated with EDTA-treated serum, no
differences were detected (Fig. 7
B). As an additional
control, gC null virus was lysed with detergent or incubated with HSV
immune serum as the source of Ab and complement. As expected, viral
lysis resulted in radioactive counts moving toward the top of the
gradient, whereas Ab and complement shifted the counts toward the
bottom of the gradient (Fig. 7
C). We interpret the results
to indicate that complement does not aggregate gC null virus and that
little if any viral lysis occurs with NHS or with Ab plus complement
based on the position of radioactive counts in the gradient.

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FIGURE 7. Sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation of NS and NS-gCnull viruses.
A, NS or NS-gCnull virus was incubated with NHS and
placed on a 565% sucrose gradient. Fractions (0.5 ml) were
collected. Results are the mean and SEM of four experiments and are
expressed as percentage of total counts detected in each fraction.
Radioactive counts for gC null virus were shifted slightly toward the
top of the gradient, although the differences between the two viruses
were not statistically significant (fraction 1, p =
0.29; fraction 6, p = 0.11). Shifts for gC null
virus to the top of the gradient are in the opposite direction expected
for aggregates. B, NS and NS-gCnull viruses were
incubated with EDTA-treated serum. Results are the mean ± SEM of
four separate experiments. No differences are detected between the two
viruses. C, As controls, gC null virus was lysed with
detergent or incubated with serum containing high titer Ab to HSV plus
complement. Lysis resulted in a shift of radioactive counts to the top
of the gradient, whereas Ab and complement shifted counts toward the
bottom of the gradient, indicating coating of virus with Ab and
complement or formation of viral aggregates. The experiment in
C was performed once.
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Complement does not block virus attachment to cells
Complement activation can lead to coating of virus with complement
proteins that can block virus attachment to cells. Experiments were
performed to determine whether NHS blocks attachment of gC null virus.
No differences were detected in virus attachment assays comparing gC
null virus incubated with NHS or heat-inactivated serum (Fig. 8
), indicating that neutralization of gC
null virus cannot be explained by the effect of complement blocking
virus attachment.

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FIGURE 8. Attachment assay to measure binding of 35S-labeled HSV-1 gC
null virus to Vero cells. No differences in kinetics or extent of
binding were detected comparing NHS and heat-inactivated serum.
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Complement blocks gC null virus infection at a step before early
viral gene expression
We previously reported that the NS-gEnull mutant virus resists
neutralization by NHS to an extent comparable to wild-type virus
(21). NS-gCnull and NS-gEnull viruses have the gC and gE
protein coding sequences, respectively, replaced by a ß-galactosidase
expression cassette (17, 41). Viruses were incubated with
heat-inactivated serum and compared for ß-galactosidase expression.
ß-galactosidase expression differed by
2-fold comparing the two
mutant viruses; therefore, for ease of comparison, we chose to present
results as percent ß-galactosidase expression in which each virus is
compared with itself to calculate the effects of complement. When
NS-gEnull virus was incubated with NHS, ß-galactosidase levels were
reduced to 37.3 ± 0.6 compared with 44.5 ± 9.6 for
heat-inactivated serum (88% of heated complement levels). In contrast,
when NS-gCnull virus was incubated with NHS, ß-galactosidase
expression was reduced to 3.5 ± 0.5 compared with 97.6 ±
24.7 for heat-inactivated serum (3% of heated complement levels) (Fig. 9
A). These results indicate
that complement blocks gC null virus infection at a step before early
gene expression.

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FIGURE 9. Detection of HSV-1 early gene expression comparing gC null and gE null
viruses. These HSV-1 mutant viruses contain the ß-galactosidase
expression cassette under the control of the HSV-1 ICP6 early promoter.
This cassette replaces gC or gE protein coding sequences.
A, Viruses were incubated with NHS or heat-inactivated
serum for 1 h at 37°C and then added to Vero cells. Twenty hours
later, ß-galactosidase expression was measured as a marker of early
gene expression. Results compare ß-galactosidase expression of virus
incubated with NHS and heat-inactivated serum. Values for
heat-inactivated serum were set at 100%. NHS markedly reduces
ß-galactosidase expression of gC null virus, while having little
effect on gE null virus. B, Cells, rather than viruses,
were incubated with NHS or heat-inactivated serum for 1 h at
37°C and then infected with HSV-1 gC null or gE null virus. Twenty
hours later, ß-galactosidase expression was measured as a marker of
early gene expression. Results shown compare ß-galactosidase
expression of cells incubated with NHS and heat-inactivated serum,
where values for heat-inactivated serum were set at 100%. No
differences between gC null and gE null virus were detected, indicating
that complement does not mediate its effect by inhibiting cell
susceptibility to infection.
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Experiments were performed to determine whether complement inhibits
infection by modifying the cells used to measure ß-galactosidase
expression. Vero cells were incubated with NHS for 1 h before
infection with NS-gCnull or NS-gEnull viruses. ß-galactosidase
expression was not affected (Fig. 9
B), indicating that
complement has its effect on the virus and not the cell.
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Discussion
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Complement may interact with specific Abs to neutralize virus by
several mechanisms, including coating virus to block attachment,
promoting viral lysis, aggregating virus, or enhancing virus attachment
to complement and IgG Fc receptors on phagocytic cells
(47). In the absence of specific Abs, complement may also
neutralize certain viruses (Table I
).
Neutralization of HSV-1 gC null virus requires C5, but not C6 or C8,
which establishes that terminal lytic complement components are
unnecessary. Neutralization assays were conducted in the absence of
phagocytic cells bearing complement receptors; therefore, enhanced
opsonization cannot account for complement-mediated neutralization
(3). In this report, we found no evidence that natural Abs
to Gal
1-3Gal are involved in virus neutralization. We previously
reported that neutralization occurs in hypogammaglobulinemic human
serum, suggesting that natural Abs directed at other, unidentified,
epitopes are not involved (17). We now report that
complement has no effect on the blocking virus attachment or on
aggregating gC null virus; therefore, the mechanisms by which
complement neutralizes HSV-1 gC null virus differ from those reported
for other viruses either in the presence or absence of specific
Abs.
The fact that gC inhibits complement neutralization helps explain why
gC is conserved in viruses isolated from clinical samples (51, 52), with rare exception (53), despite the finding
that gC is nonessential for virus replication in vitro
(54). gC promotes virus attachment to cells by binding to
cell surface heparan sulfate (55, 56). Glycosaminoglycans,
including heparan sulfate, are inhibitors of complement activation
which is thought to occur by inhibiting C1q binding and enhancing C1
inhibitor activity (57). Therefore, gC directly inhibits
complement activation through its complement-interacting domains and
may indirectly inhibit complement activation by its proximity to
heparan sulfate.
We previously reported that gC has two complement-interacting domains,
a C3-binding region in the center of the molecule, and an
amino-terminal domain that interferes with C5 and properdin binding to
C3b (15, 16, 21). Our current result helps explain why gC
blocks C5 binding, since C5 is essential for virus neutralization.
However, we show that the alternative complement pathway is not
required for virus neutralization. Why then does gC block properdin
binding to C3b? In the present study, we evaluated Ab-independent virus
neutralization, but did not examine the additive effects of Ab or
complement lysis of infected cells. We previously showed that the
alternative complement pathway is required for lysis of infected cells
(19). Perhaps the interaction between gC and properdin is
important for blocking this effect or blocking Ab and complement
neutralization.
The native C5 molecule in EDTA serum has no effect on virus
neutralization; therefore, C5 must be cleaved to C5a and C5b by
complement activation. We showed that alternative complement pathway
activation is not required, while Ca2+ is
essential since neutralization does not occur using EDTA or
Mg2+-EGTA serum (17). To activate C5
requires C1 (or the lectin pathway), C4, C2, and C3, suggesting that
each of these proteins is needed for neutralization of gC null
virus.
Which molecules on HSV-1 initiate activation of the complement cascade
and how activated C5 mediates virus neutralization remain to be
determined. One possible explanation is that activated C5 may interfere
with one or more HSV glycoproteins essential for virus entry (Fig. 10
). Another possibility is that
activated C5 blocks the interaction between the virus and cell surface
molecules that trigger intracellular events necessary for viral
replication. For example, viral glycoproteins may interact with cell
surface molecules and trigger intracellular signals that promote
virus-cell fusion, uncoating, transport of viral DNA to the nucleus, or
initiation of viral gene expression. Activated C5 on the virus may
block one or more of these activities. Future studies that address
whether activated C5 modifies virus entry or interferes with subsequent
steps in the virus replication cycle will help to define the complex
interactions between virus and the innate immune system.

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FIGURE 10. Model of possible mechanisms for complement neutralization of HSV-1. An
undefined molecule on the virion envelope activates complement leading
to C3b fixation and generation of C5b, a cleavage product of C5.
A, In the absence of gC, C5b binds to C3b and interferes
with the activity of one or more of the viral glycoproteins essential
for virus entry. Other possibilities not shown in the model are that
C5b may interfere with the ability of HSV-1 to trigger intracellular
signals required for virus uncoating, DNA transport to the nucleus, or
gene expression. B, gC regions I to IV bind to C3b,
while amino acids 33123 at the amino terminus block the binding of
C5b to C3b. By interfering with C5b binding, gC prevents C5b from
modifying the activity of viral glycoproteins essential for virus entry
or for stimulating intracellular signals that support virus
replication.
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Acknowledgments
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|---|
We thank Dr. Gerd Maul from the Microscopy Core Facility (Wistar
Institute, Philadelphia, PA) for performing the electron microscopy
studies, and Drs. Gary Cohen and Roselyn Eisenberg from the University
of Pennsylvania for assistance with the ß-galactosidase assay.
 |
Footnotes
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|---|
1 This work was supported by Public Health Service Grants HL 28220, AI 33063, and DK-35081. 
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Harvey M. Friedman, 536 Johnson Pavilion, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6073. 
3 Current address: Schering Plow, 2015 Galloping Hill Road, Kenilworth, NJ 07033. 
4 Abbreviations used in this paper: gC, glycoprotein C; gE, glycoprotein E, NHS, normal human serum. 
Received for publication May 30, 2000.
Accepted for publication July 24, 2000.
 |
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