Mayaro virus infection cycle relies on casein kinase 2 activity

Abstract

Replication of Mayaro virus in Vero cells induces dramatic cytopathic effects and cell death. In this study, we have evaluated the role of casein kinase 2 (CK2) during Mayaro virus infection cycle. We found that CK2 was activated during the initial stages of infection (∼36% after 4 h). This activation was further confirmed when the enzyme was partially purified from the cellular lysate either by Mono Q 5/5 Hr column or heparin–agarose column. Using this later column, we found that the elution profile of CK2 activity from infected cells was different from that obtained for control cell enzyme, suggesting a structural modification of CK2 after infection. Treatment of infected cells with a cell-permeable inhibitor of CK2, dichloro-1-(β- d-ribofuranosyl)benzimidazole (DRB), abolished the cytopathic effect in a dose-dependent manner. Together this set of data demonstrates for the first time that CK2 activity in host cells is required in Mayaro virus infection cycle.