Cloning and Characterization of Sf9 Cell Lamin and the Lamin Conformational Changes during Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus Infection

At present, the details of lamina alterations after baculovirus infection remain elusive. In this study, a lamin gene in the Sf9 cell line of Spodoptera frugiperda was cloned. The open reading frame (orf) of the Sf9 lamin was 1860 bp and encoded a protein with a molecular weight of 70 kDa. A transfection assay with a red fluorescence protein (rfp)-lamin fusion protein indicated that Sf9 lamin was localized in the nuclear rim. Transmission electron microscopy observations indicated that Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) nucleocapsids may pass through the nuclear envelope. Immunofluorescence assay indicated that the lamina showed a ruffled staining pattern with the formation of invaginations in the Sf9 cells infected with AcMNPV, while it was evenly distributed at the nuclear periphery of mock-infected cells. Western blotting results indicated that the total amount of lamin in the baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells was significantly decreased compared with the mock-infected cells. These results imply that AcMNPV infection induces structural and biochemical rearrangements of lamina of Sf9 cells.