Role of the capsid protein VP4 in the plasma-dependent enhancement of the Coxsackievirus B4E2-infection of human peripheral blood cells

It has been previously shown that antibodies contained in human plasma directed towards the Coxsackievirus B4 (CVB4)E2 capsid protein VP4 can enhance the CVB4E2-induced production of IFN-α by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The aim of this study was to produce a VP4 fusion protein to investigate the role of the internal capsid protein VP4 and anti-VP4 antibodies in the plasma-dependent enhancement of CVB4E2 infection of PBMC. A fusion protein MBPVP4 containing the VP4 insert of CVB4E2 and a control fusion protein MBP-β-gal-α, were produced in Escherichia coli K12 TB1. The CVB4E2 infection of PBMC was quantified by using a real time PCR method amplifying CVB4E2-negative strand RNA. IFN-α concentrations in culture supernatants were assayed by DELFIA. MBPVP4 but not MBP-β-gal-α, preincubated with plasma inhibited the plasma-dependent enhancement of CVB4E2-induced production of IFN-α by PBMC. Human plasma samples, antibodies contained in plasma eluted from MBPVP4-coated plates, but not from MBP-β-gal-α-coated plates, incubated with CVB4E2 enhanced the infection of PBMC and the production of IFN-α by infected cells. Together our results show that VP4 and anti-VP4 antibodies play a role in the plasma-dependent enhancement of CVB4E2 infection of PBMC.