THE COXSACKIEVIRUS A9 RGD MOTIF IS NOT ESSENTIAL FOR VIRUS VIABILITY

An RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid) motif in coxsackievirus A9 has been implicated in internalization through an interaction with the in tegrin alpha(v) beta(3). We have produced a number of virus mutants, l acking the motif, which have a small-plaque phenotype in LLC-Mk(2) and A-Vero cells and are phenotypically normal in RD cells. Substitution of flanking amino acids also affected plaque size. The results suggest that interaction between the RGD motif and alpha(v) beta(3) is not cr itical for virus viability in the cell lines tested and therefore that alternative regions of the CAV-9 capsid are involved in internalizati on.