Expression of the respiratory syncytial virus 22K protein on the surface of infected HeLa cells.

Immunofluorescent staining of unfixed respiratory syncytial virus-infected HeLa cells with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) demonstrated that the 22K protein is expressed on the cell membrane along with the fusion (F) protein and large glycoprotein (G). All three proteins were detected in the cytoplasm at 17 h post-infection and in the case of the F and G proteins this coincided with their appearance on the cell surface. However, the 22K protein could not be detected on the surface until approximately 16 h after its detection in the cytoplasm, when cytopathic effect was extensive. No evidence for the surface expression of the phosphoprotein (P), matrix (M) or nucleocapsid (N) proteins was found. Trypsin treatment of infected cells prior to unfixed immunofluorescent staining and Western blot analysis indicated that, unlike the G protein, the quantity of 22K protein detected on the cell surface constituted only a small proportion of the total present in the cell. A comparison of the patterns of immunofluorescent staining produced by MAbs on acetone-fixed infected cells suggested that the N, P and 22K proteins, but not the M protein, may be associated with the same intracellular structures.