Role of apical and basolateral membranes in replication of human cytomegalovirus in polarized retinal pigment epithelial cells

Human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which are permissive for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication, were used to evaluate virus infection from apical and basolateral membranes of polarized cells. Tests of HCMV infectivity showed that the apical membrane was 20-30-fold more susceptible to infection than the basolateral membrane; in contrast, both membranes were equally susceptible to infection by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) blocked penetration of virions into polarized RPE cells. This indicated that gB has a function in fusion of the virion envelope with the apical membrane of these cells, as it has with the cell membrane of unpolarized human fibroblasts. In contrast to HSV-1-infected RPE cells, the paracellular permeability of polarized RPE cells changed slowly following infection with HCMV. Confocal microscopy examination of HCMV-infected RPE cells revealed that the pattern of ZO-1 staining was altered at late times. Addition of gB-specific neutralizing MAbs to the apical and basolateral membranes of HCMV-infected RPE cells failed to inhibit plaque development; this indicated that progeny virions infect adjacent cells before disassembly of tight junctions and are sequestered from neutralization during spread across lateral cell membranes. The finding that progeny HCMV virions cross lateral cell membranes, which differ substantially in protein composition from apical membranes, suggests that polarized RPE cells contain multiple receptors for HCMV.