Vaccinia virus homologues of the Shope fibroma virus inverted terminal repeat proteins and a discontinuous ORF related to the tumor necrosis factor receptor family

Abstract

Nucleotide sequencing data from a region extending 35 kb inward from the right inverted terminal repeat (ITR) of the vaccinia virus (VV) genome established the presence of VV homologues of the Shope fibroma virus (SFV) ITR proteins. The nucleotide sequences, comprising a total of 8.6 kb, and the amino acid translations for nine predicted open reading frames (ORFs) (designated SalF4L, SalF 19R, SalF21R, B4R, B8R, B9R, B10R, and B14R) are presented. Eight of the nine VV genes and all the SFV ORFs are transcribed towards their genomic termini. However, the relative positions of the VV genes (genus Orthopoxvirus) are different than those of the corresponding ORFs in SFV (genus Leporipoxvirus), indicating complex rearrangements of DNA in the genome of one or both of these viruses subsequent to their divergence from a common ancestor. Several other features of the VV ORFs were noted. SalF4L, B7R, B8R, and B9R have hydrophobic amino-terminal signal sequences but lack discernible membrane anchor domains suggesting that the proteins may be secreted. VV ORF SalF19R has a single cysteine-rich region homologous to the multiple domains of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR), CD40, OX40 (a glycoprotein from the surface of activated murine T lymphocytes), and the recently described tumor necrosis factor receptors. Just downstream of the ORF SalF19R and in a different reading frame, there are another two related cysteine-rich domains, indicating that SalF19R was once a larger gene. B4R has homology to the host range gene of cowpox virus and to related genes near the opposite end of the vaccinia virus genome, and contains regions homologous to the repeat domains of erythrocyte ankyrin. In addition, several of the VV ORFs have homology to ORFs from near the opposite end of the VV genome, thus increasing the number of known VV gene families.