Ebola Virus: Identification of Virion Structural Proteins

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Abstract
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified Ebola virus revealed the presence of 4 major virion structural proteins designated VP1, VP2, VP3 and VP4. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) proteins were used as MW markers and the virion proteins had MW of 125,000 (VP1), 104,000 (VP2), 40,000 (VP3) and 26,000 (VP4). VP1 was labeled with glucosamine and is probably a glycoprotein. The density of the Ebola virion was about 1.14 g/ml in potassium tartrate. Virus nucleocapsids with a density of 1.32 g/ml in CsCl were released when virions were treated with detergents. Proteins VP2 and VP3 were consistently associated with released nucleocapsids and are probably the major structural nucleocapsid proteins analogous to the N protein of VSV. Protein VP4 was reduced or absent in released nucleocapsids and is probably analogous to the membrane (M) protein of VSV and similar viruses. The glycoprotein (VP1) is larger than the glycoprotein of any known negative-strand RNA virus and is not labeled well with 35S-methionine. VP1 is solubilized by detergent treatment, it may be a component of the virion spikes and analogous to the G protein of VSV. These results, in conjunction with analysis of Ebola virion RNA, strongly suggest that the virus is a negative-strand RNA virus and, along with Marburg virus, may constitute a new taxon within this group.

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