Adeno-Associated Virus RNAs Appear in a Temporal Order and Their Splicing Is Stimulated during Coinfection with Adenovirus

Abstract

ABSTRACT We have used a quantitative RNase protection assay to characterize the relative accumulation and abundance of individual adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) RNAs throughout the course of AAV-adenovirus coinfections and preinfections. We have demonstrated that there is a previously unrecognized temporal order to the appearance of AAV RNAs. First, unspliced P5-generated transcripts, which encode Rep78, were detectable prior to the significant accumulation of other AAV RNAs. Ultimately, as previously demonstrated, P19-generated products accumulated to levels greater than those generated from P5, and P40-generated transcripts predominated in the total RNA pool. Second, the percentage of each class of AAV RNA that was spliced increased during infection, and the degree of this increase was different for the P5/P19 products than for those generated by P40. At late times postcoinfection, approximately 90% of P40 products, but only approximately 50% of RNAs generated by P5 and P19, were seen to be spliced; thus, the AAV intron was removed to different final levels from these different RNA species. We have shown that each of the AAV RNAs is quite stable; the majority of each RNA species persisted 6 h after treatment with actinomycin D. Quantification of the accumulation of individual AAV RNAs, over intervals during which degradation was negligible, allowed us to infer that at late times during infection the relative strength of P5, P19, and P40 was approximately 1:3:18, respectively, consistent with the steady-state accumulated levels of the RNAs generated by each promoter. All AAV RNAs exited to the cytoplasm with similar efficiencies in the presence or absence of adenovirus; however, adenovirus coinfection appeared to stimulate total splicing of AAV RNAs and the relative use of the downstream intron acceptor. Our results confirm and extend previous observations concerning the appearance and processing of AAV-generated RNAs.