Different Retroviruses show Different Susceptibilities to 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose

Abstract

Three cell lines chronically producing different retroviruses were treated with 5 and 10 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose and assayed for viral protein synthesis with a solid phase radioimmunoassay. In A204 cells producing M7 strain of Baboon Endogenous Virus (BaEV), the drug decreased the amount of cell receptors to this virus, with a parallel inhibition of virus release, as tested with a syncytium forming units assay. Viral p24 and gp first accumulated in parallel within the cells and then decreased. BILN virus, another BaEV strain, was found to differ from the M7 strain by at least one epitope of the gp and was much more susceptible to inhibition by 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Cells infected with this strain were killed by the drug, in contrast to virus-free cells. In ovine FLK cells producing Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV), the drug specifically inhibited synthesis of the viral gp-51, with no effect on the viral p24, and no evidence of intracellular accumulation of viral components.