Characterization of the Human Cytomegalovirus Envelope Glycoproteins

Public Health Laboratory Service, Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG, Wiltshire, U.K. Virions of human cytomegalovirus were shown to contain two discrete membranes. An outer, loose fitting, membrane was sensitive to osmotic shock and could be partially removed by diluting buffered preparations of virions with water. Purified virions were shown, by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of virion membranes labelled by carbohydrate-specific procedures, to contain five glycoproteins with molecular weights of 52, 67, 95, 130 and 250, all x 10 3 . Digestion of virions with endoglycosidases revealed that there were structural differences between the carbohydrate portions of the glycoproteins. All five glycoproteins were recognized by antibodies present in pools of human convalescent sera. Keywords: cytomegalovirus, electron microscopy, envelope glycoproteins Received 4 June 1984; accepted 6 August 1984.