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Conservation and variation of the parapoxvirus GM-CSF inhibitory factor (GIF) proteins

¹ Moredun Research Institute;
² University of Otago

³ E-mail: colin.mcinnes{at}moredun.ac.uk

The GIF protein of Orf virus (ORFV) binds and inhibits the ovine cytokines granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-2 (IL-2). An equivalent protein has so far not been found in any of the other poxvirus genera and therefore we investigated whether or not it was conserved in the parapoxviruses. The corresponding genes from both the bovine-specific Psuedocowpox virus (PCPV) and Bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV) were cloned and sequenced. The predicted amino acid sequences of the PCPV and BPSV proteins shared 88% and 37% identity, respectively, with the ORFV protein. Both retained the 6 cysteine residues and the WSXWS-like motif that are required for biological activity of the ORFV protein. An analysis of the biological activity of the two recombinant proteins however revealed that whilst the PCPV GIF protein bound to both ovine and bovine GM-CSF and IL-2 with very similar binding affinities to the ORFV GIF protein, no GM-CSF or IL-2 binding activity was found with the BPSV protein.

Received 19 August 2008; accepted 10 December 2008.