Measles virus-induced disruption of the glial-fibrillary-acidic protein cytoskeleton in an astrocytoma cell line (U-251)

A recombinant measles virus which expresses enhanced green fluorescent prot ein (MVeGFP) has been used to infect two astrocytoma cell lines (GCCM and U -251) to study the effect of virus infection on the cytoskeleton. Indirect immunocytochemistry was used to demonstrate the cellular localization of th e cytoskeletal components. Enhanced green fluorescent protein autofluoresce nce was used to identify measles virus-infected cells. No alteration of the actin, tubulin, or vimentin components of the cytoskeleton was observed in either cell type, whereas a disruption of the glial-fibrillary-acidic prot ein filament (GFAP) network was noted in MVeGFP-infected U-251 cells. The r elative amounts of GFAP present in infected and uninfected U-251 cells were quantified by image analysis of data sets obtained by confocal microscopy by using vimentin, another intermediate filament on which MVeGFP has no eff ect, as a control.