EBV latency types adopt alternative chromatin conformations

Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen EBNA-LP is essential for transforming naïve B cells, and facilitates recruitment of transcription factors to the viral genome

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen leader protein (EBNA-LP) is the first viral latency-associated protein produced after EBV infection of resting B cells. Its role in B cell transformation is poorly defined, but it has been reported to enhance gene activation by the EBV protein EBNA2 in vitro. We generated EBNA-LP knockout (LPKO) EBVs containing a STOP codon within each repeat unit of internal repeat 1 (IR1). EBNA-LP-mutant EBVs established lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from adult B cells at reduced efficiency, but not from umbilical cord B cells, which died approximately two weeks after infection. Adult B cells only established EBNA-LP-null LCLs with a memory (CD27+) phenotype. Quantitative PCR analysis of virus gene expression after infection identified both an altered ratio of the EBNA genes, and a dramatic reduction in transcript levels of both EBNA2-regulated virus genes (LMP1 and LMP2) and the EBNA2-independent EBER genes in the first 2 weeks. By 30 days post infection, LPKO transcription was the same as wild-type EBV. In contrast, EBNA2-regulated cellular genes were induced efficiently by LPKO viruses. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that EBNA2 and the host transcription factors EBF1 and RBPJ were delayed in their recruitment to all viral latency promoters tested, whereas these same factors were recruited efficiently to several host genes, which exhibited increased EBNA2 recruitment. We conclude that EBNA-LP does not simply co-operate with EBNA2 in activating gene transcription, but rather facilitates the recruitment of several transcription factors to the viral genome, to enable transcription of virus latency genes. Additionally, our findings suggest that EBNA-LP is essential for the survival of EBV-infected naïve B cells.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects almost everyone. Once infected, people harbor the virus for life, shedding it in saliva. Infection of children is asymptomatic, but a first infection during adolescence or adulthood can cause glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis). EBV is also implicated in several different cancers. EBV infection of B cells (antibody-producing immune cells) can drive them to replicate almost indefinitely (‘transformation’), generating cell lines. We have investigated the role of an EBV protein (EBNA-LP) which is thought to support gene activation by the essential virus protein EBNA2. We have made an EBV in which the EBNA-LP gene has been disrupted. This virus (LPKO) shows several properties. 1. It is reduced in its ability to transform B cells; 2. ‘Naïve’ B cells (those whose antibodies have not adapted to fight infections) die two weeks after LPKO infection; 3. Some virus genes fail to turn on immediately after LPKO infection. 4. Binding of EBNA2 and various cellular factors to these genes is delayed. 5. EBNA-LP does not affect EBNA2-targeted cellular genes in the same way. This shows that EBNA-LP is more important in naïve B cells, and that it helps to turn on virus genes, but not cell genes.

The Epstein-Barr Virus Episome Maneuvers between Nuclear Chromatin Compartments during Reactivation

The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space to facilitate functional partitioning of transcription. We learned that the latent episome of the human Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) preferentially associates with gene-poor chromosomes and avoids gene-rich chromosomes. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus behaves similarly, but human papillomavirus does not. Contacts on the EBV side localize to OriP, the latent origin of replication. This genetic element and the EBNA1 protein that binds there are sufficient to reconstitute chromosome association preferences of the entire episome. Contacts on the human side localize to gene-poor and AT-rich regions of chromatin distant from transcription start sites. Upon reactivation from latency, however, the episome moves away from repressive heterochromatin and toward active euchromatin. Our work adds three-dimensional relocalization to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Involvement of myriad interchromosomal associations also suggests a role for this type of long-range association in gene regulation.

IMPORTANCE The human genome is structurally organized in three-dimensional space, and this structure functionally affects transcriptional activity. We set out to investigate whether a double-stranded DNA virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), uses mechanisms similar to those of the human genome to regulate transcription. We found that the EBV genome associates with repressive compartments of the nucleus during latency and with active compartments during reactivation. This study advances our knowledge of the EBV life cycle, adding three-dimensional relocalization as a novel component to the molecular events that occur during reactivation. Furthermore, the data add to our understanding of nuclear compartments, showing that disperse interchromosomal interactions may be important for regulating transcription.

Epstein-Barr virus: a master epigenetic manipulator

Like all herpesviruses, the ability of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to establish life-long persistent infections is related to a biphasic viral lifecycle that involves latency and reactivation/lytic replication. Memory B cells serve as the EBV latency compartment where silencing of viral gene expression allows maintenance of the viral genome, avoidance of immune surveillance, and life-long carriage. Upon viral reactivation, viral gene expression is induced for replication, progeny virion production, and viral spread. EBV uses the host epigenetic machinery to regulate its distinct viral gene expression states. However, epigenetic manipulation by EBV affects the host epigenome by reprogramming cells in ways that leave long-lasting, oncogenic phenotypes. Such virally-induced epigenetic alterations are evident in EBV-associated cancers.

Epstein-Barr Virus Rta-Mediated Accumulation of DNA Methylation Interferes with CTCF Binding in both Host and Viral Genomes

Rta, an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immediate-early protein, reactivates viral lytic replication that is closely associated with tumorigenesis. In previous studies, we demonstrated that in epithelial cells Rta efficiently induced cellular senescence, which is an irreversible G₁ arrest likely to provide a favorable environment for productive replications of EBV and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). To restrict progression of the cell cycle, Rta simultaneously upregulates CDK inhibitors and downregulates MYC, CCND1, and JUN, among others. Rta has long been known as a potent transcriptional activator, thus its role in gene repression is unexpected. In silico analysis revealed that the promoter regions of MYC, CCND1, and JUN are common in (i) the presence of CpG islands, (ii) strong chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) signals of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), and (iii) having at least one Rta binding site. By combining ChIP assays and DNA methylation analysis, here we provide evidence showing that Rta binding accumulated CpG methylation and decreased CTCF occupancy in the regulatory regions of MYC, CCND1, and JUN, which were associated with downregulated gene expression. Stable residence of CTCF in the viral latency and reactivation control regions is a hallmark of viral latency. Here, we observed that Rta-mediated decreased binding of CTCF in the viral genome is concurrent with virus reactivation. Via interfering with CTCF binding, in the host genome Rta can function as a transcriptional repressor for gene silencing, while in the viral genome Rta acts as an activator for lytic gene loci by removing a topological constraint established by CTCF.IMPORTANCE CTCF is a multifunctional protein that variously participates in gene expression and higher-order chromatin structure of the cellular and viral genomes. In certain loci of the genome, CTCF occupancy and DNA methylation are mutually exclusive. Here, we demonstrate that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immediate-early protein, Rta, known to be a transcriptional activator, can also function as a transcriptional repressor. Via enriching CpG methylation and decreasing CTCF reloading, Rta binding efficiently shut down the expression of MYC, CCND1, and JUN, thus impeding cell cycle progression. Rta-mediated disruption of CTCF binding was also detected in the latency/reactivation control regions of the EBV genome, and this in turn led to viral lytic cycle progression. As emerging evidence indicates that a methylated EBV genome is a preferable substrate for EBV Zta, the other immediate-early protein, our results suggest a mechanistic link in understanding the molecular processes of viral latent-lytic switch.

PARP1 restricts Epstein Barr Virus lytic reactivation by binding the BZLF1 promoter

The Epstein Barr virus (EBV) genome persists in infected host cells as a chromatinized episome and is subject to chromatin-mediated regulation. Binding of the host insulator protein CTCF to the EBV genome has an established role in maintaining viral latency type, and in other herpesviruses, loss of CTCF binding at specific regions correlates with viral reactivation. Here, we demonstrate that binding of PARP1, an important cofactor of CTCF, at the BZLF1 lytic switch promoter restricts EBV reactivation. Knockdown of PARP1 in the Akata-EBV cell line significantly increases viral copy number and lytic protein expression. Interestingly, CTCF knockdown has no effect on viral reactivation, and CTCF binding across the EBV genome is largely unchanged following reactivation. Moreover, EBV reactivation attenuates PARP activity, and Zta expression alone is sufficient to decrease PARP activity. Here we demonstrate a restrictive function of PARP1 in EBV lytic reactivation.

CTCF interacts with the lytic HSV-1 genome to promote viral transcription

CTCF is an essential chromatin regulator implicated in important nuclear processes including in nuclear organization and transcription. Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1) is a ubiquitous human pathogen, which enters productive infection in human epithelial and many other cell types. CTCF is known to bind several sites in the HSV-1 genome during latency and reactivation, but its function has not been defined. Here, we report that CTCF interacts extensively with the HSV-1 DNA during lytic infection by ChIP-seq, and its knockdown results in the reduction of viral transcription, viral genome copy number and virus yield. CTCF knockdown led to increased H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, and a reduction of RNA pol II occupancy on viral genes. Importantly, ChIP-seq analysis revealed that there is a higher level of CTD Ser2P modified RNA Pol II near CTCF peaks relative to the Ser5P form in the viral genome. Consistent with this, CTCF knockdown reduced the Ser2P but increased Ser5P modified forms of RNA Pol II on viral genes. These results suggest that CTCF promotes HSV-1 lytic transcription by facilitating the elongation of RNA Pol II and preventing silenced chromatin on the viral genome.

Epstein-Barr Virus Oncoprotein LMP1 Mediates Epigenetic Changes in Host Gene Expression through PARP1

The latent infection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with 1% of human cancer incidence. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) is a posttranslational modification catalyzed by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) that mediate EBV replication during latency. In this study, we detail the mechanisms that drive cellular PARylation during latent EBV infection and the effects of PARylation on host gene expression and cellular function. EBV-infected B cells had higher PAR levels than EBV-negative B cells. Moreover, cellular PAR levels were up to 2-fold greater in type III than type I latently infected EBV B cells. We identified a positive association between expression of the EBV genome-encoded latency membrane protein 1 (LMP1) and PAR levels that was dependent upon PARP1. PARP1 regulates gene expression by numerous mechanisms, including modifying chromatin structure and altering the function of chromatin-modifying enzymes. Since LMP1 is essential in establishing EBV latency and promoting tumorigenesis, we explored the model that disruption in cellular PARylation, driven by LMP1 expression, subsequently promotes epigenetic alterations to elicit changes in host gene expression. PARP1 inhibition resulted in the accumulation of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 at a subset of LMP1-regulated genes. Inhibition of PARP1, or abrogation of PARP1 expression, also suppressed the expression of LMP1-activated genes and LMP1-mediated cellular transformation, demonstrating an essential role for PARP1 activity in LMP1-induced gene expression and cellular transformation associated with LMP1. In summary, we identified a novel mechanism by which LMP1 drives expression of host tumor-promoting genes by blocking generation of the inhibitory histone modification H3K27me3 through PARP1 activation.

IMPORTANCE

EBV is causally linked to several malignancies and is responsible for 1% of cancer incidence worldwide. The EBV-encoded protein LMP1 is essential for promoting viral tumorigenesis by aberrant activation of several well-known intracellular signaling pathways. We have identified and defined an additional novel molecular mechanism by which LMP1 regulates the expression of tumor-promoting host genes. We found that LMP1 activates the cellular protein PARP1, leading to a decrease in a repressive histone modification, accompanied by induction in expression of multiple cancer-related genes. PARP1 inhibition or depletion led to a decrease in LMP1-induced cellular transformation. Therefore, targeting PARP1 activity may be an effective treatment for EBV-associated malignancies.

Novel STIM1-dependent control of Ca2+ clearance regulates NFAT activity during T-cell activation

Antigen presentation to the T-cell receptor leads to sustained cytosolic Ca²⁺ elevation, which is critical for T-cell activation. We previously showed that in activated T cells, Ca²⁺ clearance is inhibited by the endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ sensor stromal interacting molecule 1 (STIM1) via association with the plasma membrane Ca²⁺/ATPase 4 (PMCA4) Ca²⁺ pump. Having further observed that expression of both proteins is increased in activated T cells, the current study focused on mechanisms regulating both up-regulation of STIM1 and PMCA4 and assessing how this up-regulation contributes to control of Ca²⁺ clearance. Using a STIM1 promoter luciferase vector, we found that the zinc finger transcription factors early growth response (EGR) 1 and EGR4, but not EGR2 or EGR3, drive luciferase activity. We further found that neither STIM1 nor PMCA4 is up-regulated when both EGR1 and EGR4 are knocked down using RNA interference. Further, under these conditions, activation-induced Ca²⁺ clearance inhibition was eliminated with little effect on Ca²⁺ entry. Finally, we found that nuclear factor of activated T-cell (NFAT) activity is profoundly attenuated if Ca²⁺ clearance is not inhibited by STIM1. These findings reveal a critical role for STIM1-mediated control of Ca²⁺ clearance in NFAT induction during T-cell activation.-Samakai, E., Hooper, R., Martin, K. A., Shmurak, M., Zhang, Y., Kappes, D. J., Tempera, I., Soboloff, J. Novel STIM1-dependent control of Ca²⁺ clearance regulates NFAT activity during T-cell activation.

HCF1 and OCT2 Cooperate with EBNA1 To Enhance OriP-Dependent Transcription and Episome Maintenance of Latent Epstein-Barr Virus

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes latent infections as multicopy episomes with complex patterns of viral gene transcription and chromatin structure. The EBV origin of plasmid replication (OriP) has been implicated as a critical control element for viral transcription, as well as viral DNA replication and episome maintenance. Here, we examine cellular factors that bind OriP and regulate histone modification, transcription regulation, and episome maintenance. We found that OriP is enriched for histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation in multiple cell types and latency types. Host cell factor 1 (HCF1), a component of the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) histone methyltransferase complex, and transcription factor OCT2 (octamer-binding transcription factor 2) bound cooperatively with EBNA1 (Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1) at OriP. Depletion of OCT2 or HCF1 deregulated latency transcription and histone modifications at OriP, as well as the OriP-regulated latency type-dependent C promoter (Cp) and Q promoter (Qp). HCF1 depletion led to a loss of histone H3K4me3 (trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4) and H3 acetylation at Cp in type III latency and Qp in type I latency, as well as an increase in heterochromatic H3K9me3 at these sites. HCF1 depletion resulted in the loss of EBV episomes from Burkitt's lymphoma cells with type I latency and reactivation from lymphoblastoid cells (LCLs) with type III latency. These findings indicate that HCF1 and OCT2 function at OriP to regulate viral transcription, histone modifications, and episome maintenance. As HCF1 is best known for its function in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) immediate early gene transcription, our findings suggest that EBV latency transcription shares unexpected features with HSV gene regulation.

IMPORTANCE EBV latency is associated with several human cancers. Viral latent cycle gene expression is regulated by the epigenetic control of the OriP enhancer region. Here, we show that cellular factors OCT2 and HCF1 bind OriP in association with EBNA1 to maintain elevated histone H3K4me3 and transcriptional enhancer function. HCF1 is known as a transcriptional coactivator of herpes simplex virus (HSV) immediate early (IE) transcription, suggesting that OriP enhancer shares aspects of HSV IE transcription control.

EBNA2 Drives Formation of New Chromosome Binding Sites and Target Genes for B-Cell Master Regulatory Transcription Factors RBP-jκ and EBF1

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) transforms resting B-lymphocytes into proliferating lymphoblasts to establish latent infections that can give rise to malignancies. We show here that EBV-encoded transcriptional regulator EBNA2 drives the cooperative and combinatorial genome-wide binding of two master regulators of B-cell fate, namely EBF1 and RBP-jκ. Previous studies suggest that these B-cell factors are statically bound to target gene promoters. In contrast, we found that EBNA2 induces the formation of new binding for both RBP-jκ and EBF1, many of which are in close physical proximity in the cellular and viral genome. These newly induced binding sites co-occupied by EBNA2-EBF1-RBP-jκ correlate strongly with transcriptional activation of linked genes that are important for B-lymphoblast function. Conditional expression or repression of EBNA2 leads to a rapid alteration in RBP-jκ and EBF1 binding. Biochemical and shRNA depletion studies provide evidence for cooperative assembly at co-occupied sites. These findings reveal that EBNA2 facilitate combinatorial interactions to induce new patterns of transcription factor occupancy and gene programming necessary to drive B-lymphoblast growth and survival.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) reprograms host cell transcription through multiple mechanisms. Here, we show that EBV-encoded transcriptional co-activator EBNA2 drives the formation of new chromosome binding sites for host cell factors RBP-jκ and EBF1. The formation of these new sites is EBNA2-dependent. These newly formed sites have overlapping or neighboring consensus binding sites for these factors, but are only co-occupied in the presence of EBNA2. Newly formed, co-occupied binding sites are highly enriched at promoter and enhancer regulatory elements of genes activated by EBV and required for B-cell proliferation and survival. These findings indicate that EBNA2 drives cooperative and combinatorial transcription factor interactions on chromosomal DNA. We suggest that models depicting the static binding of master regulatory transcription factors to consensus binding sites be revised, and that co-activators, like EBNA2, induce dynamic and combinatorial selection of genome-wide binding sites to alter gene regulation.

Global Transcriptome Analysis Reveals That Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 Regulates Gene Expression through EZH2

Posttranslational modifications, such as poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation), regulate chromatin-modifying enzymes, ultimately affecting gene expression. This study explores the role of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) on global gene expression in a lymphoblastoid B cell line. We found that inhibition of PARP catalytic activity with olaparib resulted in global gene deregulation, affecting approximately 11% of the genes expressed. Gene ontology analysis revealed that PARP could exert these effects through transcription factors and chromatin-remodeling enzymes, including the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) member EZH2. EZH2 mediates the trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a modification associated with chromatin compaction and gene silencing. Both pharmacological inhibition of PARP and knockdown of PARP1 induced the expression of EZH2, which resulted in increased global H3K27me3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation confirmed that PARP1 inhibition led to H3K27me3 deposition at EZH2 target genes, which resulted in gene silencing. Moreover, increased EZH2 expression is attributed to the loss of the occupancy of the transcription repressor E2F4 at the EZH2 promoter following PARP inhibition. Together, these data show that PARP plays an important role in global gene regulation and identifies for the first time a direct role of PARP1 in regulating the expression and function of EZH2.

Epstein-Barr Virus Proteins EBNA3A and EBNA3C Together Induce Expression of the Oncogenic MicroRNA Cluster miR-221/miR-222 and Ablate Expression of Its Target p57KIP2

We show that two host-encoded primary RNAs (pri-miRs) and the corresponding microRNA (miR) clusters--widely reported to have cell transformation-associated activity--are regulated by EBNA3A and EBNA3C. Utilising a variety of EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) carrying knockout-, revertant- or conditional-EBV recombinants, it was possible to demonstrate unambiguously that EBNA3A and EBNA3C are both required for transactivation of the oncogenic miR-221/miR-222 cluster that is expressed at high levels in multiple human tumours--including lymphoma/leukemia. ChIP, ChIP-seq, and chromosome conformation capture analyses indicate that this activation results from direct targeting of both EBV proteins to chromatin at the miR-221/miR-222 genomic locus and activation via a long-range interaction between enhancer elements and the transcription start site of a long non-coding pri-miR located 28 kb upstream of the miR sequences. Reduced levels of miR-221/miR-222 produced by inactivation or deletion of EBNA3A or EBNA3C resulted in increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p57KIP2, a well-established target of miR-221/miR-222. MiR blocking experiments confirmed that miR-221/miR-222 target p57KIP2 expression in LCLs. In contrast, EBNA3A and EBNA3C are necessary to silence the tumour suppressor cluster miR-143/miR-145, but here ChIP-seq suggests that repression is probably indirect. This miR cluster is frequently down-regulated or deleted in human cancer, however, the targets in B cells are unknown. Together these data indicate that EBNA3A and EBNA3C contribute to B cell transformation by inhibiting multiple tumour suppressor proteins, not only by direct repression of protein-encoding genes, but also by the manipulation of host long non-coding pri-miRs and miRs.

Targeting CTCF to Control Virus Gene Expression: A Common Theme amongst Diverse DNA Viruses

All viruses target host cell factors for successful life cycle completion. Transcriptional control of DNA viruses by host cell factors is important in the temporal and spatial regulation of virus gene expression. Many of these factors are recruited to enhance virus gene expression and thereby increase virus production, but host cell factors can also restrict virus gene expression and productivity of infection. CCCTC binding factor (CTCF) is a host cell DNA binding protein important for the regulation of genomic chromatin boundaries, transcriptional control and enhancer element usage. CTCF also functions in RNA polymerase II regulation and in doing so can influence co-transcriptional splicing events. Several DNA viruses, including Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) utilize CTCF to control virus gene expression and many studies have highlighted a role for CTCF in the persistence of these diverse oncogenic viruses. CTCF can both enhance and repress virus gene expression and in some cases CTCF increases the complexity of alternatively spliced transcripts. This review article will discuss the function of CTCF in the life cycle of DNA viruses in the context of known host cell CTCF functions.

Transcriptional activation of Epstein-Barr virus BRLF1 by USF1 and Rta

During its lytic cycle, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) expresses Rta, a factor encoded by BRLF1 that activates the transcription of viral lytic genes. We found that upstream stimulating factor (USF) binds to E1, one of the five E boxes located at - 79 in the BRLF1 promoter (Rp), to activate BRLF1 transcription. Furthermore, Rta was shown to interact with USF1 in coimmunoprecipitation and glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pulldown assays, and confocal laser-scanning microscopy further confirmed that these two proteins colocalize in the nucleus. Rta was also found to bind with the E1 sequence in a biotin-labelled E1 probe, but only in the presence of USF1, suggesting that these two proteins likely form a complex on E1. We subsequently constructed p188mSZ, a reporter plasmid that contained the sequence from - 188 to +5 in Rp, within which the Sp1 site and Zta response element were mutated. In EBV-negative Akata cells cotransfected with p188mSZ and plasmids expressing USF1 and Rta, synergistic activation of Rp transcription was observed. However, after mutating the E1 sequence in p188mSZ, USF1 and Rta were no longer able to transactivate Rp, indicating that Rta autoregulates BRLF1 transcription via its interaction with USF1 on E1. This study showed that pUSF1 transfection after EBV lytic induction in P3HR1 cells increases Rta expression, indicating that USF1 activates Rta expression after the virus enters the lytic cycle. Together, these results reveal a novel mechanism by which USF interacts with Rta to promote viral lytic development, and provide additional insight into the viral-host interactions of EBV.

Human papillomaviruses activate and recruit SMC1 cohesin proteins for the differentiation-dependent life cycle through association with CTCF insulators

Human papillomaviruses infect stratified epithelia and link their productive life cycle to the differentiation state of the host cell. Productive viral replication or amplification is restricted to highly differentiated suprabasal cells and is dependent on the activation of the ATM DNA damage pathway. The ATM pathway has three arms that can act independently of one another. One arm is centered on p53, another on CHK2 and a third on SMC1/NBS1 proteins. A role for CHK2 in HPV genome amplification has been demonstrated but it was unclear what other factors provided important activities. The cohesin protein, SMC1, is necessary for sister chromatid association prior to mitosis. In addition the phosphorylated form of SMC1 plays a critical role together with NBS1 in the ATM DNA damage response. In normal cells, SMC1 becomes phosphorylated in response to radiation, however, in HPV positive cells our studies demonstrate that it is constitutively activated. Furthermore, pSMC1 is found localized in distinct nuclear foci in complexes with γ-H2AX, and CHK2 and bound to HPV DNA. Importantly, knockdown of SMC1 blocks differentiation-dependent genome amplification. pSMC1 forms complexes with the insulator transcription factor CTCF and our studies show that these factors bind to conserved sequence motifs in the L2 late region of HPV 31. Similar motifs are found in most HPV types. Knockdown of CTCF with shRNAs blocks genome amplification and mutation of the CTCF binding motifs in the L2 open reading frame inhibits stable maintenance of viral episomes in undifferentiated cells as well as amplification of genomes upon differentiation. These findings suggest a model in which SMC1 factors are constitutively activated in HPV positive cells and recruited to viral genomes through complex formation with CTCF to facilitate genome amplification. Our findings identify both SMC1 and CTCF as critical regulators of the differentiation-dependent life cycle of high-risk human papillomaviruses.

Over 120 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been identified, and approximately one-third of these infect epithelial cells of the genital mucosa. Infection by a subset of HPV types is responsible for the development of cervical and other anogenital cancers. The infectious life cycle of HPV is dependent on differentiation of the host epithelial cell, with viral genome amplification and virion production restricted to differentiated suprabasal cells. While normal keratinocytes exit the cell cycle upon differentiation, HPV positive suprabasal cells are able to re-enter S-phase to mediate productive replication. HPV induces an ATM-dependent DNA damage response that is essential for viral genome amplification in differentiating cells. In this study we demonstrate that a protein that mediates sister chromatid association prior to mitosis, SMC1, plays a critical role in the differentiation-dependent replication of HPV through the recruitment of DNA damage proteins to viral genomes. SMC1 binds specifically to CTCF binding sites in the late region of HPV through association with the DNA insulator protein CTCF. Knockdown of either SMC1 or CTCF abrogates viral genome amplification. Further, mutation of CTCF sites in the late region of the HPV genome results in loss of both episomal maintenance and the ability for SMC-1 and CTCF to interact with the genome. Our findings identify an important regulatory mechanism by which HPV controls replication during the productive phase of the life cycle, and this can lead to new targets for the development of therapeutics to treat HPV induced infections.

Genome wide nucleosome mapping for HSV-1 shows nucleosomes are deposited at preferred positions during lytic infection

HSV is a large double stranded DNA virus, capable of causing a variety of diseases from the common cold sore to devastating encephalitis. Although DNA within the HSV virion does not contain any histone protein, within 1 h of infecting a cell and entering its nucleus the viral genome acquires some histone protein (nucleosomes). During lytic infection, partial micrococcal nuclease (MNase) digestion does not give the classic ladder band pattern, seen on digestion of cell DNA or latent viral DNA. However, complete digestion does give a mono-nucleosome band, strongly suggesting that there are some nucleosomes present on the viral genome during the lytic infection, but that they are not evenly positioned, with a 200 bp repeat pattern, like cell DNA. Where then are the nucleosomes positioned? Here we perform HSV-1 genome wide nucleosome mapping, at a time when viral replication is in full swing (6 hr PI), using a microarray consisting of 50mer oligonucleotides, covering the whole viral genome (152 kb). Arrays were probed with MNase-protected fragments of DNA from infected cells. Cells were not treated with crosslinking agents, thus we are only mapping tightly bound nucleosomes. The data show that nucleosome deposition is not random. The distribution of signal on the arrays suggest that nucleosomes are located at preferred positions on the genome, and that there are some positions that are not occupied (nucleosome free regions -NFR or Nucleosome depleted regions -NDR), or occupied at frequency below our limit of detection in the population of genomes. Occupancy of only a fraction of the possible sites may explain the lack of a typical MNase partial digestion band ladder pattern for HSV DNA during lytic infection. On average, DNA encoding Immediate Early (IE), Early (E) and Late (L) genes appear to have a similar density of nucleosomes.

CCCTC-binding factor recruitment to the early region of the human papillomavirus 18 genome regulates viral oncogene expression

Host cell differentiation-dependent regulation of human papillomavirus (HPV) gene expression is required for productive infection. The host cell CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) functions in genome-wide chromatin organization and gene regulation. We have identified a conserved CTCF binding site in the E2 open reading frame of high-risk HPV types. Using organotypic raft cultures of primary human keratinocytes containing high-risk HPV18 genomes, we show that CTCF recruitment to this conserved site regulates viral gene expression in differentiating epithelia. Mutation of the CTCF binding site increases the expression of the viral oncoproteins E6 and E7 and promotes host cell proliferation. Loss of CTCF binding results in a reduction of a specific alternatively spliced transcript expressed from the early gene region concomitant with an increase in the abundance of unspliced early transcripts. We conclude that high-risk HPV types have evolved to recruit CTCF to the early gene region to control the balance and complexity of splicing events that regulate viral oncoprotein expression.

IMPORTANCE

The establishment and maintenance of HPV infection in undifferentiated basal cells of the squamous epithelia requires the activation of a subset of viral genes, termed early genes. The differentiation of infected cells initiates the expression of the late viral transcripts, allowing completion of the virus life cycle. This tightly controlled balance of differentiation-dependent viral gene expression allows the virus to stimulate cellular proliferation to support viral genome replication with minimal activation of the host immune response, promoting virus productivity. Alternative splicing of viral mRNAs further increases the complexity of viral gene expression. In this study, we show that the essential host cell protein CTCF, which functions in genome-wide chromatin organization and gene regulation, is recruited to the HPV genome and plays an essential role in the regulation of early viral gene expression and transcript processing. These data highlight a novel virus-host interaction important for HPV pathogenicity.

The Epigenetic Life Cycle of Epstein-Barr Virus

Ever since the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) more than 50 years ago, this virus has been studied for its capacity to readily establish a latent infection, which is the prominent hallmark of this member of the herpesvirus family. EBV has become an important model for many aspects of herpesviral latency, but the molecular steps and mechanisms that lead to and promote viral latency have only emerged recently. It now appears that the virus exploits diverse facets of epigenetic gene regulation in the cellular host to establish a latent infection. Most viral genes are transcriptionally repressed, and viral chromatin is densely compacted during EBV's latent phase, but latent infection is not a dead end. In order to escape from this phase, epigenetic silencing must be reverted efficiently and quickly. It appears that EBV has perfected a clever strategy to overcome transcriptional repression of its many lytic genes to initiate virus de novo synthesis within a few hours after induction of its lytic cycle. This review tries to summarize the known molecular mechanisms, the current models, concepts, and ideas underlying this viral strategy. This review also attempts to identify and address gaps in our current understanding of EBV's epigenetic mechanisms within the infected cellular host.

Chromatin Structure of Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Episomes

EBV latent infection is characterized by a highly restricted pattern of viral gene expression. EBV can establish latent infections in multiple different tissue types with remarkable variation and plasticity in viral transcription and replication. During latency, the viral genome persists as a multi-copy episome, a non-integrated-closed circular DNA with nucleosome structure similar to cellular chromosomes. Chromatin assembly and histone modifications contribute to the regulation of viral gene expression, DNA replication, and episome persistence during latency. This review focuses on how EBV latency is regulated by chromatin and its associated processes.

Host genetics of Epstein-Barr virus infection, latency and disease

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects 95% of the adult population and is the cause of infectious mononucleosis. It is also associated with 1% of cancers worldwide, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and Burkitt's lymphoma. Human and cancer genetic studies are now major forces determining gene variants associated with many cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Host genetics is also important in infectious disease; however, there have been no large-scale efforts towards understanding the contribution that human genetic variation plays in primary EBV infection and latency. This review covers 25 years of studies into host genetic susceptibility to EBV infection and disease, from candidate gene studies, to the first genome-wide association study of EBV antibody response, and an EBV-status stratified genome-wide association study of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although many genes are implicated in EBV-related disease, studies are often small, not replicated or followed up in a different disease. Larger, appropriately powered genomic studies to understand the host response to EBV will be needed to move our understanding of the biology of EBV infection beyond the handful of genes currently identified. Fifty years since the discovery of EBV and its identification as a human oncogenic virus, a glimpse of the future is shown by the first whole-genome and whole-exome studies, revealing new human genes at the heart of the host–EBV interaction. © 2014 The Authors. Reviews in Medical Virology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Epstein-Barr virus and nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Since its discovery 50 years ago, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been linked to the development of cancers originating from both lymphoid and epithelial cells. Approximately 95% of the world's population sustains an asymptomatic, life-long infection with EBV. The virus persists in the memory B-cell pool of normal healthy individuals, and any disruption of this interaction results in virus-associated B-cell tumors. The association of EBV with epithelial cell tumors, specifically nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and EBV-positive gastric carcinoma (EBV-GC), is less clear and is currently thought to be caused by the aberrant establishment of virus latency in epithelial cells that display premalignant genetic changes. Although the precise role of EBV in the carcinogenic process is currently poorly understood, the presence of the virus in all tumor cells provides opportunities for developing novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches. The study of EBV and its role in carcinomas continues to provide insight into the carcinogenic process that is relevant to a broader understanding of tumor pathogenesis and to the development of targeted cancer therapies.

Epstein-Barr virus-host cell interactions: an epigenetic dialog?

Here, we wish to highlight the genetic exchange and epigenetic interactions between Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and its host. EBV is associated with diverse lymphoid and epithelial malignancies. Their molecular pathogenesis is accompanied by epigenetic alterations which are distinct for each of them. While lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from B cells transformed by EBV in vitro are characterized by a massive demethylation and euchromatinization of the viral and cellular genomes, the primarily malignant lymphoid tumor Burkitt’s lymphoma and the epithelial tumors nasopharyngeal carcinoma and EBV-associated gastric carcinoma are characterized by hypermethylation of a multitude of cellular tumor suppressor gene loci and of the viral genomes. In some cases, the viral latency and oncoproteins including the latent membrane proteins LMP1 and LMP2A and several nuclear antigens affect the level of cellular DNA methyltransferases or interact with the histone modifying machinery. Specific molecular mechanisms of the epigenetic dialog between virus and host cell remain to be elucidated.

Dynamic Epstein-Barr virus gene expression on the path to B-cell transformation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an oncogenic human herpesvirus in the γ-herpesvirinae subfamily that contains a 170-180kb double-stranded DNA genome. In vivo, EBV commonly infects B and epithelial cells and persists for the life of the host in a latent state in the memory B-cell compartment of the peripheral blood. EBV can be reactivated from its latent state, leading to increased expression of lytic genes that primarily encode for enzymes necessary to replicate the viral genome and structural components of the virion. Lytic cycle proteins also aid in immune evasion, inhibition of apoptosis, and the modulation of other host responses to infection. In vitro, EBV has the potential to infect primary human B cells and induce cellular proliferation to yield effectively immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines, or LCLs. EBV immortalization of B cells in vitro serves as a model system for studying EBV-mediated lymphomagenesis. While much is known about the steady-state viral gene expression within EBV-immortalized LCLs and other EBV-positive cell lines, relatively little is known about the early events after primary B-cell infection. It was previously thought that upon latent infection, EBV only expressed the well-characterized latency-associated transcripts found in LCLs. However, recent work has characterized the early, but transient, expression of lytic genes necessary for efficient transformation and delayed responses in the known latency genes. This chapter summarizes these recent findings that show how dynamic and controlled expression of multiple EBV genes can control the activation of B cells, entry into the cell cycle, the inhibition of apoptosis, and innate and adaptive immune responses.

DNA replication-dependent binding of CTCF plays a critical role in adenovirus genome functions

The expression of adenovirus late genes is shown to require viral DNA replication, but its mechanism remains elusive. Here we found that knockdown of CTCF suppresses viral DNA replication as well as late, but not early, gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicated that CTCF binds to viral chromatin depending on viral DNA replication. These findings depict CTCF as a critical regulator for adenovirus genome functions in late phases of infection.

Host-virus interactions: from the perspectives of epigenetics

Chromatin structure and histone modifications play key roles in gene regulation. Some virus genomes are organized into chromatin-like structure, which undergoes different histone modifications facilitating complex functions in virus life cycles including replication. Here, we present a comprehensive summary of recent research in this field regarding the interaction between viruses and host epigenetic factors with emphasis on how chromatin modifications affect viral gene expression and virus infection. We also describe the strategies employed by viruses to manipulate the host epigenetic program to facilitate virus replication as well as the underlying mechanisms. Together, knowledge from this field not only generates novel insights into virus life cycles but may also have important therapeutic implications.

Adenovirus-based vaccines against rhesus lymphocryptovirus EBNA-1 induce expansion of specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in persistently infected rhesus macaques

The impact of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) on human health is substantial, but vaccines that prevent primary EBV infections or treat EBV-associated diseases are not yet available. The Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) is an important target for vaccination because it is the only protein expressed in all EBV-associated malignancies. We have designed and tested two therapeutic EBV vaccines that target the rhesus (rh) lymphocryptovirus (LCV) EBNA-1 to determine if ongoing T cell responses during persistent rhLCV infection in rhesus macaques can be expanded upon vaccination. Vaccines were based on two serotypes of E1-deleted simian adenovirus and were administered in a prime-boost regimen. To further modulate the response, rhEBNA-1 was fused to herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D (HSV-gD), which acts to block an inhibitory signaling pathway during T cell activation. We found that vaccines expressing rhEBNA-1 with or without functional HSV-gD led to expansion of rhEBNA-1-specific CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells in 33% and 83% of the vaccinated animals, respectively. Additional animals developed significant changes within T cell subsets without changes in total numbers. Vaccination did not increase T cell responses to rhBZLF-1, an immediate early lytic phase antigen of rhLCV, thus indicating that increases of rhEBNA-1-specific responses were a direct result of vaccination. Vaccine-induced rhEBNA-1-specific T cells were highly functional and produced various combinations of cytokines as well as the cytolytic molecule granzyme B. These results serve as an important proof of principle that functional EBNA-1-specific T cells can be expanded by vaccination.

IMPORTANCE

EBV is a common human pathogen that establishes a persistent infection through latency in B cells, where it occasionally reactivates. EBV infection is typically benign and is well controlled by the host adaptive immune system; however, it is considered carcinogenic due to its strong association with lymphoid and epithelial cell malignancies. Latent EBNA-1 is a promising target for a therapeutic vaccine, as it is the only antigen expressed in all EBV-associated malignancies. The goal was to determine if rhEBNA-1-specific T cells could be expanded upon vaccination of infected animals. Results were obtained with vaccines that target EBNA-1 of rhLCV, a virus closely related to EBV. We found that vaccination led to expansion of rhEBNA-1 immune cells that exhibited functions fit for controlling viral infection. This confirms that rhEBNA-1 is a suitable target for therapeutic vaccines. Future work should aim to generate more-robust T cell responses through modified vaccines.

Epigenetic deregulation of the LMP1/LMP2 locus of Epstein-Barr virus by mutation of a single CTCF-cohesin binding site

The chromatin regulatory factors CTCF and cohesin have been implicated in the coordinated control of multiple gene loci in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latency. We have found that CTCF and cohesin are highly enriched at the convergent and partially overlapping transcripts for the LMP1 and LMP2A genes, but it is not yet known how CTCF and cohesin may coordinately regulate these transcripts. We now show that genetic disruption of this CTCF binding site (EBVΔCTCF166) leads to a deregulation of LMP1, LMP2A, and LMP2B transcription in EBV-immortalized B lymphocytes. EBVΔCTCF166 virus-immortalized primary B lymphocytes showed a decrease in LMP1 and LMP2A mRNA and a corresponding increase in LMP2B mRNA. The reduction of LMP1 and LMP2A correlated with a loss of euchromatic histone modification H3K9ac and a corresponding increase in heterochromatic histone modification H3K9me3 at the LMP2A promoter region in EBVΔCTCF166. Chromosome conformation capture (3C) revealed that DNA loop formation with the origin of plasmid replication (OriP) enhancer was eliminated in EBVΔCTCF166. We also observed that the EBV episome copy number was elevated in EBVΔCTCF166 and that this was not due to increased lytic cycle activity. These findings suggest that a single CTCF binding site controls LMP2A and LMP1 promoter selection, chromatin boundary function, DNA loop formation, and episome copy number control during EBV latency.

Epigenetic regulation of EBV persistence and oncogenesis

Epigenetic mechanisms play a fundamental role in generating diverse and heritable patterns of viral and cellular gene expression. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can adopt a variety of gene expression programs that are necessary for long-term viral persistence and latency in multiple host-cell types and conditions. The latent viral genomes assemble into chromatin structures with different histone and DNA modifications patterns that control viral gene expression. Variations in nucleosome organization and chromatin conformations can also influence gene expression by coordinating physical interactions between different regulatory elements. The viral-encoded and host-cell factors that control these epigenetic features are beginning to be understood at the genome-wide level. These epigenetic regulators can also influence viral pathogenesis by expanding tissue tropism, evading immune detection, and driving host-cell carcinogenesis. Here, we review some of the recent findings and perspectives on how the EBV epigenome plays a central role in viral latency and viral-associated carcinogenesis.

Keeping it quiet: chromatin control of gammaherpesvirus latency

The human gammaherpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) establish long-term latent infections associated with diverse human cancers. Viral oncogenesis depends on the ability of the latent viral genome to persist in host nuclei as episomes that express a restricted yet dynamic pattern of viral genes. Multiple epigenetic events control viral episome generation and maintenance. This Review highlights some of the recent findings on the role of chromatin assembly, histone and DNA modifications, and higher-order chromosome structures that enable gammaherpesviruses to establish stable latent infections that mediate viral pathogenesis.

Update on microbe-induced epigenetic changes: bacterial effectors and viral oncoproteins as epigenetic dysregulators

Pathoepigenetics is a new discipline describing how disturbances in epigenetic regulation alter the epigenotype and gene-expression pattern of human, animal or plant cells. Such ‘epigenetic reprogramming’ may play an important role in the initiation and progression of a wide variety of diseases. Infectious diseases also belong to this category: recent data demonstrated that microbial pathogens, including bacteria and viruses, are capable of dysregulating the epigenetic machinery of their host cell. The resulting heritable changes in host cell gene expression may favor the colonization, growth or spread of infectious pathogens. It may also facilitate the establishment of latency and malignant cell transformation. In this article, we review how bacterial epigenetic effectors and inflammatory processes elicited by bacteria alter the host cell epigenotype, and describe how oncoproteins encoded by human tumor viruses act as epigenetic dysregulators to alter the phenotype and behavior of host cells.

Modulation of enhancer looping and differential gene targeting by Epstein-Barr virus transcription factors directs cellular reprogramming

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) epigenetically reprogrammes B-lymphocytes to drive immortalization and facilitate viral persistence. Host-cell transcription is perturbed principally through the actions of EBV EBNA 2, 3A, 3B and 3C, with cellular genes deregulated by specific combinations of these EBNAs through unknown mechanisms. Comparing human genome binding by these viral transcription factors, we discovered that 25% of binding sites were shared by EBNA 2 and the EBNA 3s and were located predominantly in enhancers. Moreover, 80% of potential EBNA 3A, 3B or 3C target genes were also targeted by EBNA 2, implicating extensive interplay between EBNA 2 and 3 proteins in cellular reprogramming. Investigating shared enhancer sites neighbouring two new targets (WEE1 and CTBP2) we discovered that EBNA 3 proteins repress transcription by modulating enhancer-promoter loop formation to establish repressive chromatin hubs or prevent assembly of active hubs. Re-ChIP analysis revealed that EBNA 2 and 3 proteins do not bind simultaneously at shared sites but compete for binding thereby modulating enhancer-promoter interactions. At an EBNA 3-only intergenic enhancer site between ADAM28 and ADAMDEC1 EBNA 3C was also able to independently direct epigenetic repression of both genes through enhancer-promoter looping. Significantly, studying shared or unique EBNA 3 binding sites at WEE1, CTBP2, ITGAL (LFA-1 alpha chain), BCL2L11 (Bim) and the ADAMs, we also discovered that different sets of EBNA 3 proteins bind regulatory elements in a gene and cell-type specific manner. Binding profiles correlated with the effects of individual EBNA 3 proteins on the expression of these genes, providing a molecular basis for the targeting of different sets of cellular genes by the EBNA 3s. Our results therefore highlight the influence of the genomic and cellular context in determining the specificity of gene deregulation by EBV and provide a paradigm for host-cell reprogramming through modulation of enhancer-promoter interactions by viral transcription factors.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with numerous cancers. The ability of the virus to infect B-cells and convert them from short-lived into immortal cells is the key to its cancer-promoting properties. A small number of EBV transcription factors are required for immortalization and act in concert to drive cell growth by deregulating the expression of cellular genes through largely unknown mechanisms. We have demonstrated that four of these key transcription factors function cooperatively by targeting common genes via long-range enhancer elements and modulating their looping interactions with gene promoters. Specifically we show that gene repression by the EBV EBNA 3 family of proteins can be mediated through the modulation of enhancer-promoter looping. Our results also reveal that different subsets of EBNA 3 proteins are bound at different genes and that this differential binding can vary in lymphoma cells compared to cells immortalized in culture, indicating that cell-background-specific gene regulation may be important in lymphoma development. Our results demonstrate how cellular genes can be deregulated by an oncogenic virus through modulation of enhancer-promoter looping with the specificity of binding by viral transcription factors controlling cellular reprogramming in a gene and cell-type specific manner.

The open chromatin landscape of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic gammaherpesvirus which establishes latent infection in endothelial and B cells, as well as in primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). During latency, the viral genome exists as a circular DNA minichromosome (episome) and is packaged into chromatin analogous to human chromosomes. Only a small subset of promoters, those which drive latent RNAs, are active in latent episomes. In general, nucleosome depletion ("open chromatin") is a hallmark of eukaryotic regulatory elements such as promoters and transcriptional enhancers or insulators. We applied formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE) followed by next-generation sequencing to identify regulatory elements in the KSHV genome and integrated these data with previously identified locations of histone modifications, RNA polymerase II occupancy, and CTCF binding sites. We found that (i) regions of open chromatin were not restricted to the transcriptionally defined latent loci; (ii) open chromatin was adjacent to regions harboring activating histone modifications, even at transcriptionally inactive loci; and (iii) CTCF binding sites fell within regions of open chromatin with few exceptions, including the constitutive LANA promoter and the vIL6 promoter. FAIRE-identified nucleosome depletion was similar among B and endothelial cell lineages, suggesting a common viral genome architecture in all forms of latency.

Cis and trans acting factors involved in human cytomegalovirus experimental and natural latent infection of CD14 (+) monocytes and CD34 (+) cells

The parameters involved in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) latent infection in CD14 (+) and CD34 (+) cells remain poorly identified. Using next generation sequencing we deduced the transcriptome of HCMV latently infected CD14 (+) and CD34 (+) cells in experimental as well as natural latency settings. The gene expression profile from natural infection in HCMV seropositive donors closely matched experimental latency models, and included two long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), RNA4.9 and RNA2.7 as well as the mRNAs encoding replication factors UL84 and UL44. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays on experimentally infected CD14 (+) monocytes followed by next generation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) were employed to demonstrate both UL84 and UL44 proteins interacted with the latent viral genome and overlapped at 5 of the 8 loci identified. RNA4.9 interacts with components of the polycomb repression complex (PRC) as well as with the MIE promoter region where the enrichment of the repressive H3K27me3 mark suggests that this lncRNA represses transcription. Formaldehyde Assisted Isolation of Regulatory Elements (FAIRE), which identifies nucleosome-depleted viral DNA, was used to confirm that latent mRNAs were associated with actively transcribed, FAIRE analysis also showed that the terminal repeat (TR) region of the latent viral genome is depleted of nucleosomes suggesting that this region may contain an element mediating viral genome maintenance. ChIP assays show that the viral TR region interacts with factors associated with the pre replication complex and a plasmid subclone containing the HCMV TR element persisted in latently infected CD14 (+) monocytes, strongly suggesting that the TR region mediates viral chromosome maintenance.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus where infection is usually subclinical. HCMV initial infection is followed by the establishment of latency in CD34 (+) myeloid cells and CD14 (+) monocytes. Primary infection or reactivation from latency can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality can occur in immune compromised patients. Latency is marked by the persistence of the viral genome, lack of production of infectious virus and the expression of only a few previously recognized latency associated transcripts. Despite the significant interest in HCMV latent infection, little is known regarding the mechanism involved in establishment or maintenance of the viral chromosome. We have now identified the transacting factors present in latently infected CD14 (+) monocytes and CD34 (+) progenitor cells as well as identification of a region of the HCMV genome, the terminal repeat locus that mediates viral DNA maintenance. This is a major step toward understanding the mechanism of HCMV latent infection.

Epigenetic regulation of EBV and KSHV latency

The gammaherpesviruses are unique for their capacity to establish a variety of gene expression programs during latent and lytic infection. This capacity enables the virus to control host-cell proliferation, prevent programmed cell death, elude immune cell detection, and ultimately adapt to a wide range of environmental and developmental changes in the host cell. This remarkable plasticity of gene expression results from the combined functionalities of viral and host factors that biochemically remodel and epigenetically modify the viral chromosome. These epigenetic modifications range from primary DNA methylations, to chromatin protein post-translational modifications, to higher-order chromosome conformations. In addition, gammaherpesviruses have acquired specialized tools to modulate the epigenetic processes that promote viral genome propagation and host-cell survival.

Interpreting the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) epigenome using high-throughput data

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) double-stranded DNA genome is subject to extensive epigenetic regulation. Large consortiums and individual labs have generated a vast number of genome-wide data sets on human lymphoblastoid and other cell lines latently infected with EBV. Analysis of these data sets reveals important new information on the properties of the host and viral chromosome structure organization and epigenetic modifications. We discuss the mapping of these data sets and the subsequent insights into the chromatin structure and transcription factor binding patterns on latent EBV genomes. Colocalization of multiple histone modifications and transcription factors at regulatory loci are considered in the context of the biology and regulation of EBV.

Snapshots: chromatin control of viral infection

Like their cellular host counterparts, many invading viral pathogens must contend with, modulate, and utilize the host cell's chromatin machinery to promote efficient lytic infection or control persistent-latent states. While not intended to be comprehensive, this review represents a compilation of conceptual snapshots of the dynamic interplay of viruses with the chromatin environment. Contributions focus on chromatin dynamics during infection, viral circumvention of cellular chromatin repression, chromatin organization of large DNA viruses, tethering and persistence, viral interactions with cellular chromatin modulation machinery, and control of viral latency-reactivation cycles.

An atlas of the Epstein-Barr virus transcriptome and epigenome reveals host-virus regulatory interactions

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is associated with multiple human tumors, persists as a minichromosome in the nucleus of B lymphocytes and induces malignancies through incompletely understood mechanisms. Here, we present a large-scale functional genomic analysis of EBV. Our experimentally generated nucleosome positioning maps and viral protein binding data were integrated with over 700 publicly available high-throughput sequencing data sets for human lymphoblastoid cell lines mapped to the EBV genome. We found that viral lytic genes are coexpressed with cellular cancer-associated pathways, suggesting that the lytic cycle may play an unexpected role in virus-mediated oncogenesis. Host regulators of viral oncogene expression and chromosome structure were identified and validated, revealing a role for the B cell-specific protein Pax5 in viral gene regulation and the cohesin complex in regulating higher order chromatin structure. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of latent viral persistence in oncogenesis and establish a valuable viral genomics resource for future exploration.

Telomeres and viruses: common themes of genome maintenance

Genome maintenance mechanisms actively suppress genetic instability associated with cancer and aging. Some viruses provoke genetic instability by subverting the host's control of genome maintenance. Viruses have their own specialized strategies for genome maintenance, which can mimic and modify host cell processes. Here, we review some of the common features of genome maintenance utilized by viruses and host chromosomes, with a particular focus on terminal repeat (TR) elements. The TRs of cellular chromosomes, better known as telomeres, have well-established roles in cellular chromosome stability. Cellular telomeres are themselves maintained by viral-like mechanisms, including self-propagation by reverse transcription, recombination, and retrotransposition. Viral TR elements, like cellular telomeres, are essential for viral genome stability and propagation. We review the structure and function of viral repeat elements and discuss how they may share telomere-like structures and genome protection functions. We consider how viral infections modulate telomere regulatory factors for viral repurposing and can alter normal host telomere structure and chromosome stability. Understanding the common strategies of viral and cellular genome maintenance may provide new insights into viral-host interactions and the mechanisms driving genetic instability in cancer.

CTCF occupation of the herpes simplex virus 1 genome is disrupted at early times postreactivation in a transcription-dependent manner

In herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), binding clusters enriched in CTCF during latency have been previously identified. We hypothesized that CTCF binding to CTCF clusters in HSV-1 would be disrupted in a reactivation event. To investigate, CTCF occupation of three CTCF binding clusters in HSV-1 was analyzed following sodium butyrate (NaB)- and explant-induced reactivation in the mouse. Our data show that the CTCF domains positioned within the HSV-1 genome, specifically around the latency-associated transcript (LAT) and ICP0 and ICP4 regions of the genome, lose CTCF occupancy following the application of reactivation stimuli in wild-type virus. We also found that CTCF binding clusters upstream of the ICP0 and ICP4 promoters both function as classical insulators capable of acting as enhancer blockers of the LAT enhancer. Finally, our results suggest that CTCF occupation of domains in HSV-1 may be differentially regulated both during latency and at early times following reactivation by the presence of lytic transcripts and further implicate epigenetic regulation of HSV-1 as a critical component of the latency-reactivation transition.

Epstein-Barr virus infection as an epigenetic driver of tumorigenesis

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes latent infection and is associated with tumors, such as Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric cancers. We recently reported that EBV(+) gastric cancer shows an EBV(+)/extensively high-methylation epigenotype, and in vitro EBV infection induces extensive DNA methylation with gene repression within 18 weeks. On the basis of the absence of both EBV and high-methylation accumulation in the surrounding mucosa of EBV(+) gastric cancer, it is suggested that an EBV-infected cell acquires extensive methylation to silence multiple tumor suppressor genes in a short time period and transforms into cancer cells, not forming a precancerous field with EBV infection or methylation accumulation. The methylation mechanism induced by EBV infection has not been fully clarified. Differences in EBV genome methylation that are dependent on a different latency status or other epigenomic alterations, such as 3-dimensional conformation and histone modification, may affect host genome methylation. Expressions of viral proteins and small RNAs are also different depending on latency status, and some viral proteins might trigger DNA methylation by inducing DNA methyltransferase overexpression. In this review, we discuss these roles of EBV infection in driving tumorigenesis and their possible association with aberrant DNA methylation.

Microbiome and malignancy

Current knowledge is insufficient to explain why only a proportion of individuals exposed to environmental carcinogens or carrying a genetic predisposition to cancer develop disease. Clearly, other factors must be important, and one such element that has recently received attention is the human microbiome, the residential microbes including Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes, and viruses that colonize humans. Here, we review principles and paradigms of microbiome-related malignancy, as illustrated by three specific microbial-host interactions. We review the effects of the microbiota on local and adjacent neoplasia, present the estrobolome model of distant effects, and discuss the complex interactions with a latent virus leading to malignancy. These are separate facets of a complex biology interfacing all the microbial species we harbor from birth onward toward early reproductive success and eventual senescence.

E2F1, ARID3A/Bright and Oct-2 factors bind to the Epstein-Barr virus C promoter, EBNA1 and oriP, participating in long-distance promoter-enhancer interactions

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) C promoter (Cp) regulates several genes required for B-cell proliferation in latent EBV infection. The family of repeats (FR) region of the latent origin of plasmid replication (oriP) functions as an Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1)-dependent distant enhancer of Cp activity, and the enhancer-promoter interaction is mediated by a higher-order multi-protein complex containing several copies of EBNA1. Using DNA-affinity purification with a 170 bp region of the Cp in combination with mass spectrometry, we identified the cell cycle-regulatory protein E2F1, the E2F-binding protein ARID3A, and the B-cell-specific transcription factor Oct-2 as components of this multi-protein complex. Binding of the three factors to the FR region of oriP was determined by DNA-affinity and immunoblot analysis. Co-immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation analysis revealed that the three factors, E2F1, ARID3A and Oct-2, interact with each other as well as with EBNA1 in the nuclei of EBV-positive cells. Using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we showed that E2F1 and Oct-2 interacted with the FR part of oriP and the Cp, but the ARID3A interaction was, however, only detected at the Cp. Our findings support the hypothesis that EBNA1 initiates transcription at the Cp via interactions between multiple EBNA1 homodimers and cellular transcription factors in a large molecular machinery that forms a dynamic interaction between Cp and FR.

Insulators, long-range interactions, and genome function

Insulators are DNA-protein complexes that can mediate interactions in cis or trans between different regions of the genome. Although originally defined on the basis of their ability to block enhancer-promoter communication or to serve as barriers against the spreading of heterochromatin in reporter systems, recent information suggests that their function is more nuanced and depends on the nature of the sequences brought together by contacts between specific insulator sites. Here we provide an overview of new evidence that has uncovered a wide range of functions for these sequences in addition to their two classical roles.

Contributions of CTCF and DNA methyltransferases DNMT1 and DNMT3B to Epstein-Barr virus restricted latency

Establishment of persistent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection requires transition from a program of full viral latency gene expression (latency III) to one that is highly restricted (latency I and 0) within memory B lymphocytes. It is well established that DNA methylation plays a critical role in EBV gene silencing, and recently the chromatin boundary protein CTCF has been implicated as a pivotal regulator of latency via its binding to several loci within the EBV genome. One notable site is upstream of the common EBNA gene promoter Cp, at which CTCF may act as an enhancer-blocking factor to initiate and maintain silencing of EBNA gene transcription. It was previously suggested that increased expression of CTCF may underlie its potential to promote restricted latency, and here we also noted elevated levels of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and DNMT3B associated with latency I. Within B-cell lines that maintain latency I, however, stable knockdown of CTCF, DNMT1, or DNMT3B or of DNMT1 and DNMT3B in combination did not result in activation of latency III protein expression or EBNA gene transcription, nor did knockdown of DNMTs significantly alter CpG methylation within Cp. Thus, differential expression of CTCF and DNMT1 and -3B is not critical for maintenance of restricted latency. Finally, mutant EBV lacking the Cp CTCF binding site exhibited sustained Cp activity relative to wild-type EBV in a recently developed B-cell superinfection model but ultimately was able to transition to latency I, suggesting that CTCF contributes to but is not necessarily essential for the establishment of restricted latency.

The insulator protein CTCF binding sites in the orf73/LANA promoter region of herpesvirus saimiri are involved in conferring episomal stability in latently infected human T cells

Herpesviruses establish latency in suitable cells of the host organism after a primary lytic infection. Subgroup C strains of herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), a primate gamma-2 herpesvirus, are able to transform human and other primate T lymphocytes to stable growth in vitro. The viral genomes persist as nonintegrated, circular, and histone-associated episomes in the nuclei of those latently infected T cells. Epigenetic modifications of episomes are essential to restrict the transcription during latency to selected viral genes, such as the viral oncogenes stpC/tip and the orf73/LANA. In this study, we describe a genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation-on-chip (ChIP-on-chip) analysis to profile the occupancy of CTCF on the latent HVS genome. We then focused on two distinct, conserved CTCF binding sites (CBS) within the orf73/LANA promoter region. Analysis of recombinant viruses harboring deletions or mutations within the CBS indicated that the lytic replication of such viruses is not substantially influenced by CTCF. However, T cells latently infected with CBS mutants were impaired in their proliferation abilities and showed a significantly reduced episomal maintenance. We detected a reduced transcription of the orf73/LANA gene in the T cells, corresponding to the reduced viral genomes; this might contribute to the loss of HVS episomes, as LANA is central in the maintenance of viral episomes in the dividing T cell populations. These data demonstrate that the episomal stability of HVS genomes in latently infected human T cells is dependent on CTCF.