Mutations in Sensor 1 and Walker B in the bovine papillomavirus E1 initiator protein mimic the nucleotide-bound state

A conserved regulatory module at the C terminus of the papillomavirus E1 helicase domain controls E1 helicase assembly

Viruses frequently combine multiple activities into one polypeptide to conserve coding capacity. This strategy creates regulatory challenges to ascertain that the combined activities are compatible and do not interfere with each other. The papillomavirus E1 protein, as many other helicases, has the intrinsic ability to form hexamers and double hexamers (DH) that serve as the replicative DNA helicase. However, E1 also has the more unusual ability to generate local melting by forming a double trimer (DT) complex that can untwist the double-stranded origin of DNA replication (ori) DNA in preparation for DH formation. Here we describe a switching mechanism that allows the papillomavirus E1 protein to form these two different kinds of oligomers and to transition between them. We show that a conserved regulatory module attached to the E1 helicase domain blocks hexamer and DH formation and promotes DT formation. In the presence of the appropriate trigger, the inhibitory effect of the regulatory module is relieved and the transition to DH formation can occur.

IMPORTANCE

This study provides a mechanistic understanding into how a multifunctional viral polypeptide can provide different, seemingly incompatible activities. A conserved regulatory sequence module attached to the AAA+ helicase domain in the papillomavirus E1 protein allows the formation of different oligomers with different biochemical activities.

The E1 proteins

E1, an ATP-dependent DNA helicase, is the only enzyme encoded by papillomaviruses (PVs). It is essential for replication and amplification of the viral episome in the nucleus of infected cells. To do so, E1 assembles into a double-hexamer at the viral origin, unwinds DNA at the origin and ahead of the replication fork and interacts with cellular DNA replication factors. Biochemical and structural studies have revealed the assembly pathway of E1 at the origin and how the enzyme unwinds DNA using a spiral escalator mechanism. E1 is tightly regulated in vivo, in particular by post-translational modifications that restrict its accumulation in the nucleus. Here we review how different functional domains of E1 orchestrate viral DNA replication, with an emphasis on their interactions with substrate DNA, host DNA replication factors and modifying enzymes. These studies have made E1 one of the best characterized helicases and provided unique insights on how PVs usurp different host-cell machineries to replicate and amplify their genome in a tightly controlled manner.

Engagement of the ATR-dependent DNA damage response at the human papillomavirus 18 replication centers during the initial amplification

We have previously demonstrated that the human papillomavirus (HPV) genome replicates effectively in U2OS cells after transfection using electroporation. The transient extrachromosomal replication, stable maintenance, and late amplification of the viral genome could be studied for high- and low-risk mucosal and cutaneous papillomaviruses. Recent findings indicate that the cellular DNA damage response (DDR) is activated during the HPV life cycle and that the viral replication protein E1 might play a role in this process. We used a U2OS cell-based system to study E1-dependent DDR activation and the involvement of these pathways in viral transient replication. We demonstrated that the E1 protein could cause double-strand DNA breaks in the host genome by directly interacting with DNA. This activity leads to the induction of an ATM-dependent signaling cascade and cell cycle arrest in the S and G(2) phases. However, the transient replication of HPV genomes in U2OS cells induces the ATR-dependent pathway, as shown by the accumulation of γH2AX, ATR-interacting protein (ATRIP), and topoisomerase IIβ-binding protein 1 (TopBP1) in viral replication centers. Viral oncogenes do not play a role in this activation, which is induced only through DNA replication or by replication proteins E1 and E2. The ATR pathway in viral replication centers is likely activated through DNA replication stress and might play an important role in engaging cellular DNA repair/recombination machinery for effective replication of the viral genome upon active amplification.