The amino-terminal C/H1 domain of CREB binding protein mediates zta transcriptional activation of latent Epstein-Barr virus.
(1/2054)
Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is maintained as a nucleosome-covered episome that can be transcriptionally activated by overexpression of the viral immediate-early protein, Zta. We show here that reactivation of latent EBV by Zta can be significantly enhanced by coexpression of the cellular coactivators CREB binding protein (CBP) and p300. A stable complex containing both Zta and CBP could be isolated from lytically stimulated, but not latently infected RAJI nuclear extracts. Zta-mediated viral reactivation and transcriptional activation were both significantly inhibited by coexpression of the E1A 12S protein but not by an N-terminal deletion mutation of E1A (E1ADelta2-36), which fails to bind CBP. Zta bound directly to two related cysteine- and histidine-rich domains of CBP, referred to as C/H1 and C/H3. These domains both interacted specifically with the transcriptional activation domain of Zta in an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Interestingly, we found that the C/H3 domain was a potent dominant negative inhibitor of Zta transcriptional activation function. In contrast, an amino-terminal fragment containing the C/H1 domain was sufficient for coactivation of Zta transcription and viral reactivation function. Thus, CBP can stimulate the transcription of latent EBV in a histone acetyltransferase-independent manner mediated by the CBP amino-terminal C/H1-containing domain. We propose that CBP may regulate aspects of EBV latency and reactivation by integrating cellular signals mediated by competitive interactions between C/H1, C/H3, and the Zta activation domain. (+info)
Epstein-barr virus regulates c-MYC, apoptosis, and tumorigenicity in Burkitt lymphoma.
(2/2054)
Loss of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome from Akata Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cells is coincident with a loss of malignant phenotype, despite the fact that Akata and other EBV-positive BL cells express a restricted set of EBV gene products (type I latency) that are not known to overtly affect cell growth. Here we demonstrate that reestablishment of type I latency in EBV-negative Akata cells restores tumorigenicity and that tumorigenic potential correlates with an increased resistance to apoptosis under growth-limiting conditions. The antiapoptotic effect of EBV was associated with a higher level of Bcl-2 expression and an EBV-dependent decrease in steady-state levels of c-MYC protein. Although the EBV EBNA-1 protein is expressed in all EBV-associated tumors and is reported to have oncogenic potential, enforced expression of EBNA-1 alone in EBV-negative Akata cells failed to restore tumorigenicity or EBV-dependent down-regulation of c-MYC. These data provide direct evidence that EBV contributes to the tumorigenic potential of Burkitt lymphoma and suggest a novel model whereby a restricted latency program of EBV promotes B-cell survival, and thus virus persistence within an immune host, by selectively targeting the expression of c-MYC. (+info)
Anti-rheumatic compound aurothioglucose inhibits tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced HIV-1 replication in latently infected OM10.1 and Ach2 cells.
(3/2054)
NF-kappaB is a potent cellular activator of HIV-1 gene expression. Down-regulation of NF-kappaB activation is known to inhibit HIV replication from the latently infected cells. Gold compounds have been effectively used for many decades in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We previously reported that gold compounds, especially aurothioglucose (AuTG) containing monovalent gold ion, inhibited the DNA-binding of NF-kappaB in vitro. In this report we have examined the efficacy of the gold compound AuTG as an inhibitor of HIV replication in latently infected OM10.1 and Ach2 cells. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced HIV-1 replication in OM10.1 or Ach2 cells was significantly inhibited by non-cytotoxic doses of AuTG (>10 microM in OM10.1 cells and >25 F.M in Ach2 cells), while 25 microM of the counter-anion thioglucose (TG) or gold compound containing divalent gold ion, HAuCl3, had no effect. The effect of AuTG on NF-kappaB-dependent gene expression was confirmed by a transient CAT assay. Specific staining as well as electron microscopic examinations revealed the accumulation of metal gold in the cells, supporting our previous hypothesis that gold ions could block NF-kappaB-DNA binding by a redox mechanism. These observations indicate that the monovalent gold compound AuTG is a potentially useful drug for the treatment of patients infected with HIV. (+info)
EBP2, a human protein that interacts with sequences of the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 important for plasmid maintenance.
(4/2054)
The replication and stable maintenance of latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA episomes in human cells requires only one viral protein, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1). To gain insight into the mechanisms by which EBNA1 functions, we used a yeast two-hybrid screen to detect human proteins that interact with EBNA1. We describe here the isolation of a protein, EBP2 (EBNA1 binding protein 2), that specifically interacts with EBNA1. EBP2 was also shown to bind to DNA-bound EBNA1 in a one-hybrid system, and the EBP2-EBNA1 interaction was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation from insect cells expressing these two proteins. EBP2 is a 35-kDa protein that is conserved in a variety of organisms and is predicted to form coiled-coil interactions. We have mapped the region of EBNA1 that binds EBP2 and generated internal deletion mutants of EBNA1 that are deficient in EBP2 interactions. Functional analyses of these EBNA1 mutants show that the ability to bind EBP2 correlates with the ability of EBNA1 to support the long-term maintenance in human cells of a plasmid containing the EBV origin, oriP. An EBNA1 mutant lacking amino acids 325 to 376 was defective for EBP2 binding and long-term oriP plasmid maintenance but supported the transient replication of oriP plasmids at wild-type levels. Thus, our results suggest that the EBNA1-EBP2 interaction is important for the stable segregation of EBV episomes during cell division but not for the replication of the episomes. (+info)
Genetic evidence that EBNA-1 is needed for efficient, stable latent infection by Epstein-Barr virus.
(5/2054)
Replication and maintenance of the 170-kb circular chromosome of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) during latent infection are generally believed to depend upon a single viral gene product, the nuclear protein EBNA-1. EBNA-1 binds to two clusters of sites at oriP, an 1, 800-bp sequence on the EBV genome which can support replication and maintenance of artificial plasmids introduced into cell lines that contain EBNA-1. To investigate the importance of EBNA-1 to latent infection by EBV, we introduced a frameshift mutation into the EBNA-1 gene of EBV by recombination along with a flanking selectable marker. EBV genomes carrying the frameshift mutation could be isolated readily after superinfecting EBV-positive cell lines, but not if recombinant virus was used to infect EBV-negative B-cell lines or to immortalize peripheral blood B cells. EBV mutants lacking almost all of internal repeat 3, which encode a repetitive glycine and alanine domain of EBNA-1, were generated in the same way and found to immortalize B cells normally. An EBNA-1-deficient mutant of EBV was isolated and found to be incapable of establishing a latent infection of the cell line BL30 at a detectable frequency, indicating that the mutant was less than 1% as efficient as an isogenic, EBNA-1-positive strain in this assay. The data indicate that EBNA-1 is required for efficient and stable latent infection by EBV under the conditions tested. Evidence from other studies now indicates that autonomous maintenance of the EBV chromosome during latent infection does not depend on the replication initiation function of oriP. It is therefore likely that the viral chromosome maintenance (segregation) function of oriP and EBNA-1 is what is required. (+info)
Expression of EBNA-1 mRNA is regulated by cell cycle during Epstein-Barr virus type I latency.
(6/2054)
Expression of EBNA-1 protein is required for the establishment and maintenance of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome during latent infection. During type I latency, the BamHI Q promoter (Qp) gives rise to EBNA-1 expression. The dominant regulatory mechanism for Qp appears to be mediated through the Q locus, located immediately downstream of the transcription start site. Binding of EBNA-1 to the Q locus represses Qp constitutive activity, and repression has been reported to be overcome by an E2F family member that binds to the Q locus and displaces EBNA-1 (N. S. Sung, J. Wilson, M. Davenport, N. D. Sista, and J. S. Pagano, Mol. Cell. Biol. 14:7144-7152, 1994). These data suggest that the final outcome of Qp activity is reciprocally controlled by EBNA-1 and E2F. Since E2F activity is cell cycle regulated, Qp activity and EBNA-1 expression are predicted to be regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Proliferation of the type I latently infected cell line, Akata, was synchronized with the use of the G2/M blocking agent nocodazole. From 65 to 75% of cells could be made to peak in S phase without evidence of viral reactivation. Following release from G2/M block, EBNA-1 mRNA levels declined as the synchronized cells entered the G1 phase of the cell cycle. As cells proceeded into S phase, EBNA-1 mRNA levels increased parallel to the peak in cell numbers in S phase. However, EBNA-1 protein levels showed no detectable change during the cell cycle, most likely due to the protein's long half-life as estimated by inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide. Finally, in Qp luciferase reporter assays, the activity of Qp was shown to be regulated by cell cycle and to be dependent on the E2F sites within the Q locus. These findings demonstrate that transcriptional activity of Qp is cell cycle regulated and indicated that E2F serves as the stimulus for this regulation. (+info)
Macrophages are the major reservoir of latent murine gammaherpesvirus 68 in peritoneal cells.
(7/2054)
B cells have previously been identified as the major hematopoietic cell type harboring latent gammaherpesvirus 68 (gammaHV68) (N. P. Sunil-Chandra, S. Efstathiou, and A. A. Nash, J. Gen. Virol. 73:3275-3279, 1992). However, we have shown that gammaHV68 efficiently establishes latency in B-cell-deficient mice (K. E. Weck, M. L. Barkon, L. I. Yoo, S. H. Speck, and H. W. Virgin, J. Virol. 70:6775-6780, 1996), demonstrating that B cells are not required for gammaHV68 latency. To understand this dichotomy, we determined whether hematopoietic cell types, in addition to B cells, carry latent gammaHV68. We observed a high frequency of cells that reactivate latent gammaHV68 in peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) derived from both B-cell-deficient and normal C57BL/6 mice. PECs were composed primarily of macrophages in B-cell-deficient mice and of macrophages plus B cells in normal C57BL/6 mice. To determine which cells in PECs from C57BL/6 mice carry latent gammaHV68, we developed a limiting-dilution PCR assay to quantitate the frequency of cells carrying the gammaHV68 genome in fluorescence-activated cell sorter-purified cell populations. We also quantitated the contribution of individual cell populations to the total frequency of cells carrying latent gammaHV68. At early times after infection, the frequency of PECs that reactivated gammaHV68 correlated very closely with the frequency of PECs carrying the gammaHV68 genome, validating measurement of the frequency of viral-genome-positive cells as a measure of latency in this cell population. F4/80-positive macrophage-enriched, lymphocyte-depleted PECs harbored most of the gammaHV68 genome and efficiently reactivated gammaHV68, while CD19-positive, B-cell-enriched PECs harbored about a 10-fold lower frequency of gammaHV68 genome-positive cells. CD4-positive, T-cell-enriched PECs contained only a very low frequency of gammaHV68 genome-positive cells, consistent with previous analyses indicating that T cells are not a reservoir for gammaHV68 latency (N. P. Sunil-Chandra, S. Efstathiou, and A. A. Nash, J. Gen. Virol. 73:3275-3279, 1992). Since macrophages are bone marrow derived, we determined whether elicitation of a large inflammatory response in the peritoneum would recruit additional latent cells into the peritoneum. Thioglycolate inoculation increased the total number of PECs by about 20-fold but did not affect the frequency of cells that reactivate gammaHV68, consistent with a bone marrow reservoir for latent gammaHV68. These experiments demonstrate gammaHV68 latency in two different hematopoietic cell types, F4/80-positive macrophages and CD19-positive B cells, and argue for a bone marrow reservoir for latent gammaHV68. (+info)
Role for gamma interferon in control of herpes simplex virus type 1 reactivation.
(8/2054)
Observation of chronic inflammatory cells and associated high-level gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production in ganglia during herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) latent infection in mice (E. M. Cantin, D. R. Hinton, J. Chen, and H. Openshaw, J. Virol. 69:4898-4905, 1995) prompted studies to determine a role of IFN-gamma in maintaining latency. Mice lacking IFN-gamma (GKO mice) or the IFN-gamma receptor (RGKO mice) were inoculated with HSV-1, and the course of the infection was compared with that in IFN-gamma-competent mice with the same genetic background (129/Sv//Ev mice). A time course study showed no significant difference in trigeminal ganglionic viral titers or the timing of establishment of latency. Spontaneous reactivation resulting in infectious virus in the ganglion did not occur during latency in any of the mice. However, 24 h after the application of hyperthermic stress to mice, HSV-1 antigens were detected in multiple neurons in the null mutant mice but in only a single neuron in the 129/Sv//Ev control mice. Mononuclear inflammatory cells clustered tightly around these reactivating neurons, and by 48 h, immunostaining was present in satellite cells as well. The incidence of hyperthermia-induced reactivation as determined by recovery of infectious virus from ganglia was significantly higher in the null mutant than in control mice: 11% in 129/Sv//Ev controls, 50% in GKO mice (P = 0.0002), and 33% in RGKO mice (P = 0.03). We concluded that IFN-gamma is not involved in the induction of reactivation but rather contributes to rapid suppression of HSV once it is reactivated. (+info)