Differential cleavage of IRES trans-acting factors (ITAFs) in cells infected by human rhinovirus

Human rhinovirus (HRV) is a major causative agent of the common cold, and thus has several important health implications. As a member of the picornavirus family, HRV has a small genomic RNA that utilizes several host cell proteins for RNA replication. Host proteins poly(rC) binding protein 2 (PCBP2) and polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) are cleaved by a viral proteinase during the course of infection by the related picornavirus, poliovirus. The cleavage of PCBP2 and PTB inhibits poliovirus translation and has been proposed to mediate a switch in poliovirus template usage from translation to RNA replication. HRV RNA replication also requires a switch in template usage from translation to RNA replication; however, the mechanism is not yet known. We demonstrate that PCBP2 and PTB are differentially cleaved during HRV infection in different cell lines, suggesting that HRV utilizes a mechanism distinct from PCBP2 or PTB cleavage to mediate a switch in template usage.