An intestinal mucin is the target substrate for a baculovirus enhancin
- 24 June 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 94 (13) , 6977-6982
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.13.6977
Abstract
An invertebrate intestinal mucin (IIM) was identified from a lepidopterous insect, Trichoplusia ni. The IIM is a major protein constituent of the peritrophic membrane that facilitates the digestive process, as well as protecting invertebrate digestive tracts from microbial infections. The IIM demonstrated biochemical characteristics similar to vertebrate mucins, but exhibited strong association with the chitin-containing peritrophic membrane matrix. We have demonstrated that a baculovirus enhancin, which is encoded and carried by specific baculoviruses, has mucin-degrading activity both in vitro and in vivo. The in vivo degradation of IIM by enhancin was correlated with the enhancement of baculovirus infections in insects. These findings have shown that viruses have evolved a novel strategy to overcome intestinal mucinous barriers against microorganisms by utilizing a mucin-degrading enzyme.Keywords
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