Baculovirus data suggest a common but multifaceted pathway for sorting proteins to the inner nuclear membrane.

Multiple unique protein markers sorted to the inner nuclear membrane (INM) from the Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus occlusion-derived virus (ODV) envelope were used to decipher common elements of the sorting pathway of integral membrane proteins from their site of insertion into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through their transit to the INM. The data show that during viral infection, the viral protein FP25K is a partner for all known ODV envelope proteins and that BV/ODV-E26 (designated E26) is a partner for some, but not all, such proteins. The association with the ER membrane of FP25K, E26, and the cellular INM-sorting protein importin-alpha-16 is not static; rather, these sorting proteins are actively recruited to the ER membrane based upon requirements of the proteins in transit to the INM. Colocalization analysis using an ODV envelope protein and importin-alpha-16 shows that during viral infection, importin-alpha-16 translocates across the pore membrane to the INM and then is incorporated into the virus-induced intranuclear membranes. Thus, the association of importin-alpha-16 and INM-directed proteins appears to remain at least through protein translocation across the pore membrane to the INM. Overall, the data suggest that multiple levels of regulation facilitate INM-directed protein trafficking, and that proteins participating in this sorting pathway have a dynamic relationship with each other and the membrane of the ER.