Abstract
We recently showed that the interaction between Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) tegument proteins ORF33 and ORF45 is crucial for progeny virion production, but the exact functions of KSHV ORF33 during lytic replication were unknown (J. Gillen, W. Li, Q. Liang, D. Avey, J. Wu, F. Wu, J. Myoung, and F. Zhu, J Virol 89:4918-4931, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.02925-14). Therefore, here we investigated the relationship between ORF33 and ORF38, whose counterparts in both alpha- and betaherpesviruses interact with each other. Using specific monoclonal antibodies, we found that both proteins are expressed during the late lytic cycle with similar kinetics and that both are present in mature virions as components of the tegument. Furthermore, we confirmed that ORF33 interacts with ORF38. Interestingly, we observed that ORF33 tightly associates with the capsid, whereas ORF38 associates with the envelope. We generated ORF33-null, ORF38-null, and double-null mutants and found that these mutants apparently have identical phenotypes: the mutations caused no apparent effect on viral gene expression but reduced the yield of progeny virion by about 10-fold. The progeny virions also lack certain virion component proteins, including ORF45. During viral lytic replication, the virions associate with cytoplasmic vesicles. We also observed that ORF38 associates with the membranes of vesicles and colocalizes with the Golgi membrane or early endosome membrane. Further analyses of ORF33/ORF38 mutants revealed the reduced production of virion-containing vesicles, suggesting that ORF33 and ORF38 are involved in the transport of newly assembled viral particles into cytoplasmic vesicles, a process important for viral maturation and egress. Importance: Herpesvirus assembly is an essential step in virus propagation that leads to the generation of progeny virions. It is a complicated process that depends on the delicate regulation of interactions among virion proteins. We previously revealed an essential role of ORF45-ORF33 binding for virus assembly. Here, we report that ORF33 and its binding partner, ORF38, are required for infectious virus production due to their important role in the tegumentation process. Moreover, we found that both ORF33 and ORF38 are involved in the transportation of virions through vesicles during maturation and egress. Our results provide new insights into the important roles of ORF33 and ORF38 during viral assembly, a process critical for virus propagation that is intimately linked to KSHV pathobiology.