Essential elements of a licensed, mammalian plasmid origin of DNA synthesis

The Epstein-Barr Virus Oncogene EBNA1 Suppresses Natural Killer Cell Responses and Apoptosis Early after Infection of Peripheral B Cells

The innate immune system serves as frontline defense against pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses. Natural killer (NK) cells are a part of innate immunity and can both secrete cytokines and directly target cells for lysis. NK cells express several cell surface receptors, including NKG2D, which bind multiple ligands. People with deficiencies in NK cells are often susceptible to uncontrolled infection by herpesviruses, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Infection with EBV stimulates both innate and adaptive immunity, yet the virus establishes lifelong latent infection in memory B cells. We show that the EBV oncogene EBNA1, previously known to be necessary for maintaining EBV genomes in latently infected cells, also plays an important role in suppressing NK cell responses and cell death in newly infected cells. EBNA1 does so by downregulating the NKG2D ligands ULBP1 and ULBP5 and modulating expression of c-Myc. B cells infected with a derivative of EBV that lacks EBNA1 are more susceptible to NK cell-mediated killing and show increased levels of apoptosis. Thus, EBNA1 performs a previously unappreciated role in reducing immune response and programmed cell death after EBV infection, helping infected cells avoid immune surveillance and apoptosis and thus persist for the lifetime of the host. IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen, infecting up to 95% of the world's adult population. Initial infection with EBV can cause infectious mononucleosis. EBV is also linked to several human malignancies, including lymphomas and carcinomas. Although infection by EBV alerts the immune system and causes an immune response, the virus persists for life in memory B cells. We show that the EBV protein EBNA1 can downregulate several components of the innate immune system linked to natural killer (NK) cells. This downregulation of NK cell activity translates to lower killing of EBV-infected cells and is likely one way that EBV escapes immune surveillance after infection. Additionally, we show that EBNA1 reduces apoptosis in newly infected B cells, allowing more of these cells to survive. Taken together, our findings uncover new functions of EBNA1 and provide insights into viral strategies to survive the initial immune response postinfection.

Structural and Biophysical Investigation of the Key Hotspots on the Surface of Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 Essential for DNA Recognition and Pathogenesis

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is considered the most important human pathogen due to its role in infections and cellular malignancies. It has been reported that this Oncolytic virus infects 90% world’s population. EBNA1 is required for DNA binding and survival of the virus and is considered an essential drug target. The biochemical and structural properties of this protein are known, but it is still unclear which residues impart a critical role in the recognition of dsDNA. Intending to disclose only the essential residues in recognition of dsDNA, this study used a computational pipeline to generate an alanine mutant of each interacting residue and determine the impact on the binding. Our analysis revealed that R469A, K514A, Y518A, R521A and R522A are the key hotspots for the recognition of dsDNA by the EBNA1. The dynamics properties, i.e. stability, flexibility, structural compactness, hydrogen bonding frequency, binding affinity, are altered by disrupting the protein-DNA contacts, thereby decreases the binding affinity. In particular, the two arginine substitution, R521A and R522A, significantly affected the total binding energy. Thus, we hypothesize that these residues impart a critical role in the dsDNA recognition and pathogenesis. This study would help to design structure-based drugs against the EBV infections.

Rev1 promotes replication through UV lesions in conjunction with DNA polymerases η, ι, and κ but not DNA polymerase ζ

Yoon et al. show that Rev1 is indispensable for translesion synthesis (TLS) mediated by Polη, Polι, and Polκ but is not required for TLS by Polζ. This work implicates a crucial role for Rev1 in the maintenance of genome stability in humans.

Translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerases (Pols) promote replication through DNA lesions; however, little is known about the protein factors that affect their function in human cells. In yeast, Rev1 plays a noncatalytic role as an indispensable component of Polζ, and Polζ together with Rev1 mediates a highly mutagenic mode of TLS. However, how Rev1 functions in TLS and mutagenesis in human cells has remained unclear. Here we determined the role of Rev1 in TLS opposite UV lesions in human and mouse fibroblasts and showed that Rev1 is indispensable for TLS mediated by Polη, Polι, and Polκ but is not required for TLS by Polζ. In contrast to its role in mutagenic TLS in yeast, Rev1 promotes predominantly error-free TLS opposite UV lesions in humans. The identification of Rev1 as an indispensable scaffolding component for Polη, Polι, and Polκ, which function in TLS in highly specialized ways opposite a diverse array of DNA lesions and act in a predominantly error-free manner, implicates a crucial role for Rev1 in the maintenance of genome stability in humans.

Identification of properties of the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus latent origin of replication that are essential for the efficient establishment and maintenance of intact plasmids

The maintenance of latent Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) genomes is mediated in cis by their terminal repeats (TR). A KSHV genome can have 16 to 50 copies of the 801-bp TR, each of which harbors a 71-bp-long minimal replicator element (MRE). A single MRE can support replication in transient assays, and the presence of as few as two TRs appears to support establishment of KSHV-derived plasmids. Why then does KSHV have such redundancy and heterogeneity in the number of TRs? By determining the abilities of KSHV-derived plasmids containing various numbers of the TRs and MREs to be established and maintained in the long term, we have found that plasmids with fewer than 16 TRs or those with tandem repeats of the MREs are maintained inefficiently, as shown by both their decreased abilities to support formation of colonies and their instability, resulting in frequent rearrangements yielding larger plasmids during and after establishment. These defects often can be overcome by adding the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) partitioning element, FR (i.e., family of repeats), in cis to these plasmids. In addition we have found that the spacing between MREs is important for their functions, too. Thus, two properties of KSHV's origin of latent replication essential for the efficient establishment and maintenance of viral plasmids stably are (i) the presence of approximately 16 copies of the TR, which are needed for efficient partitioning, and (ii) the presence of at least 2 MRE units separated by 801 bp of center-to-center spacing, which are required for efficient synthesis.

IMPORTANCE

KSHV is a human tumor virus that maintains its genome as a plasmid in lymphoid tumor cells. Each plasmid DNA molecule encodes many origins of synthesis. Here we show that these many origins provide an essential advantage to KSHV, allowing the DNAs to be maintained without rearrangement. We find also that the correct spacing between KSHV's origins of DNA synthesis is required for them to support synthesis efficiently. The identification of these properties illuminates plasmid replication in mammalian cells and should lead to the development of rational means to inhibit these tumorigenic replicons.

A role for DNA polymerase θ in promoting replication through oxidative DNA lesion, thymine glycol, in human cells

The biological functions of human DNA polymerase (pol) θ, an A family polymerase, have remained poorly defined. Here we identify a role of polθ in translesion synthesis (TLS) in human cells. We show that TLS through the thymine glycol (TG) lesion, the most common oxidation product of thymine, occurs via two alternative pathways, in one of which, polymerases κ and ζ function together and mediate error-free TLS, whereas in the other, polθ functions in an error-prone manner. Human polθ is comprised of an N-terminal ATPase/helicase domain, a large central domain, and a C-terminal polymerase domain; however, we find that only the C-terminal polymerase domain is required for TLS opposite TG in human cells. In contrast to TLS mediated by polκ and polζ, in which polζ would elongate the chain from the TG:A base pair formed by polκ action, the ability of polθ alone to carry out the nucleotide insertion step, as well as the subsequent extension step that presents a considerable impediment due to displacement of the 5' template base, suggests that the polθ active site can accommodate highly distorting DNA lesions.

Potential cellular functions of Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1) of Epstein-Barr Virus

Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1) is a multifunctional protein encoded by EBV. EBNA1’s role in maintaining EBV in latently proliferating cells, by mediating EBV genome synthesis and nonrandom partitioning to daughter cells, as well as regulating viral gene transcription, is well characterized. Less understood are the roles of EBNA1 in affecting the host cell to provide selective advantages to those cells that harbor EBV. In this review we will focus on the interactions between EBNA1 and the host cell that may provide EBV-infected cells selective advantages beyond the maintenance of EBV.

Replication of Epstein-Barr viral DNA

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a paradigm for human tumor viruses: it is the first virus recognized to cause cancer in people; it causes both lymphomas and carcinomas; yet these tumors arise infrequently given that most people in the world are infected with the virus. EBV is maintained extrachromosomally in infected normal and tumor cells. Eighty-four percent of these viral plasmids replicate each S phase, are licensed, require a single viral protein for their synthesis, and can use two functionally distinct origins of DNA replication, oriP, and Raji ori. Eighty-eight percent of newly synthesized plasmids are segregated faithfully to the daughter cells. Infectious viral particles are not synthesized under these conditions of latent infection. This plasmid replication is consistent with survival of EBV's host cells. Rare cells in an infected population either spontaneously or following exogenous induction support EBV's lytic cycle, which is lethal for the cell. In this case, the viral DNA replicates 100-fold or more, uses a third kind of viral origin of DNA replication, oriLyt, and many viral proteins. Here we shall describe the three modes of EBV's replication as a function of the viral origins used and the viral and cellular proteins that mediate the DNA synthesis from these origins focusing, where practical, on recent advances in our understanding.

Differential chromatin structure encompassing replication origins in transformed and normal cells

This study examines the chromatin structure encompassing replication origins in transformed and normal cells. Analysis of the global levels of histone H3 acetylated at K9&14 (open chromatin) and histone H3 trimethylated at K9 (closed chromatin) revealed a higher ratio of open to closed chromatin in the transformed cells. Also, the trithorax and polycomb group proteins, Brg-1 and Bmi-1, respectively, were overexpressed and more abundantly bound to chromatin in the transformed cells. Quantitative comparative analyses of episomal and in situ chromosomal replication origin activity as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays, using specific antibodies targeting members of the pre-replication complex (pre-RC) as well as open/closed chromatin markers encompassing both episomal and chromosomal origins, revealed that episomal origins had similar levels of in vivo activity, nascent DNA abundance, pre-RC protein association, and elevated open chromatin structure at the origin in both cell types. In contrast, the chromosomal origins corresponding to 20mer1, 20mer2, and c-myc displayed a 2- to 3-fold higher activity and pre-RC protein abundance as well as higher ratios of open to closed chromatin and of Brg-1 to Bmi-1 in the transformed cells, whereas the origin associated with the housekeeping lamin B2 gene exhibited similar levels of activity, pre-RC protein abundance, and higher ratios of open to closed chromatin and of Brg-1 to Bmi-1 in both cell types. Nucleosomal positioning analysis, using an MNase-Southern blot assay, showed that all the origin regions examined were situated within regions of inconsistently positioned nucleosomes, with the nucleosomes being spaced farther apart from each other prior to the onset of S phase in both cell types. Overall, the results indicate that cellular transformation is associated with differential epigenetic regulation, whereby chromatin structure is more open, rendering replication origins more accessible to initiator proteins, thus allowing increased origin activity.

Genetic control of translesion synthesis on leading and lagging DNA strands in plasmids derived from Epstein-Barr virus in human cells

DNA lesions in the template strand block synthesis by replicative DNA polymerases (Pols). Eukaryotic cells possess a number of specialized translesion synthesis (TLS) Pols with the ability to replicate through DNA lesions. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a member of the herpesvirus family, infects human B cells and is maintained there as an extrachromosomal replicon, replicating once per cycle during S phase. Except for the requirement of the virus-encoded origin-binding protein EBNA1, replication of plasmids containing the EBV origin of replication (oriP) is controlled by the same cellular processes that govern chromosomal replication. Since replication of EBV plasmid closely mimics that of human chromosomal DNA, in this study we examined the genetic control of TLS in a duplex plasmid in which bidirectional replication initiates from an EBV oriP origin and a UV-induced cis-syn TT dimer is placed on the leading- or the lagging-strand DNA template. Here we show that TLS occurs equally frequently on both the DNA strands of EBV plasmid and that the requirements of TLS Pols are the same regardless of which DNA strand carries the lesion. We discuss the implications of these observations for TLS mechanisms that operate on the two DNA strands during chromosomal replication and conclude that the same genetic mechanisms govern TLS during the replication of the leading and the lagging DNA strands in human cells.

IMPORTANCE

Since replication of EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) origin-based plasmids appropriates the cellular machinery for all the steps of replication, our observations that the same genetic mechanisms govern translesion synthesis (TLS) on the two DNA strands of EBV plasmids imply that the requirements of TLS Pols are not affected by any of the differences in the replicative Pols or in other proteins that may be used for the replication of the two DNA strands in human cells. These findings also have important implications for evaluating the significance of results of TLS studies with the SV40 origin-based plasmids that we have reported previously, in which we showed that TLS occurs similarly on the two DNA strands. Since the genetic control of TLS in SV40 plasmids resembles that in EBV plasmids, we conclude that TLS studies with the SV40 plasmids are as informative of TLS mechanisms that operate during cellular replication as those with the EBV plasmids.

Tegument protein control of latent herpesvirus establishment and animation

Herpesviruses are successful pathogens that infect most vertebrates as well as at least one invertebrate species. Six of the eight human herpesviruses are widely distributed in the population. Herpesviral infections persist for the life of the infected host due in large part to the ability of these viruses to enter a non-productive, latent state in which viral gene expression is limited and immune detection and clearance is avoided. Periodically, the virus will reactivate and enter the lytic cycle, producing progeny virus that can spread within or to new hosts. Latency has been classically divided into establishment, maintenance, and reactivation phases. Here we focus on demonstrated and postulated molecular mechanisms leading to the establishment of latency for representative members of each human herpesvirus family. Maintenance and reactivation are also briefly discussed. In particular, the roles that tegument proteins may play during latency are highlighted. Finally, we introduce the term animation to describe the initiation of lytic phase gene expression from a latent herpesvirus genome, and discuss why this step should be separated, both molecularly and theoretically, from reactivation.

Development of drugs for Epstein-Barr virus using high-throughput in silico virtual screening

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human herpesvirus that is causally associated with endemic forms of Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and lymphoproliferative disease in immunosuppressed individuals. On a global scale, EBV infects > 90% of the adult population and is responsible for ∼ 1% of all human cancers. To date, there is no efficacious drug or therapy for the treatment of EBV infection and EBV-related diseases.

AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW

In this review, we discuss the existing anti-EBV inhibitors and those under development. We discuss the value of different molecular targets, including EBV lytic DNA replication enzymes as well as proteins that are expressed exclusively during latent infection, such as EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and latent membrane protein 1. As the atomic structure of the EBNA-1 DNA binding domain has been described, it is an attractive target for in silico methods of drug design and small molecule screening. We discuss the use of computational methods that can greatly facilitate the development of novel inhibitors and how in silico screening methods can be applied to target proteins with known structures, such as EBNA-1, to treat EBV infection and disease.

WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN

The reader is familiarized with the problems in targeting of EBV for inhibition by small molecules and how computational methods can greatly facilitate this process.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Despite the impressive efficacy of nucleoside analogs for the treatment of herpesvirus lytic infection, there remain few effective treatments for latent infections. As EBV latent infection persists within and contributes to the formation of EBV-associated cancers, targeting EBV latent proteins is an unmet medical need. High-throughput in silico screening can accelerate the process of drug discovery for novel and selective agents that inhibit EBV latent infection and associated disease.

Genome-wide analysis of host-chromosome binding sites for Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1)

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1) protein is required for the establishment of EBV latent infection in proliferating B-lymphocytes. EBNA1 is a multifunctional DNA-binding protein that stimulates DNA replication at the viral origin of plasmid replication (OriP), regulates transcription of viral and cellular genes, and tethers the viral episome to the cellular chromosome. EBNA1 also provides a survival function to B-lymphocytes, potentially through its ability to alter cellular gene expression. To better understand these various functions of EBNA1, we performed a genome-wide analysis of the viral and cellular DNA sites associated with EBNA1 protein in a latently infected Burkitt lymphoma B-cell line. Chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) combined with massively parallel deep-sequencing (ChIP-Seq) was used to identify cellular sites bound by EBNA1. Sites identified by ChIP-Seq were validated by conventional real-time PCR, and ChIP-Seq provided quantitative, high-resolution detection of the known EBNA1 binding sites on the EBV genome at OriP and Qp. We identified at least one cluster of unusually high-affinity EBNA1 binding sites on chromosome 11, between the divergent FAM55 D and FAM55B genes. A consensus for all cellular EBNA1 binding sites is distinct from those derived from the known viral binding sites, suggesting that some of these sites are indirectly bound by EBNA1. EBNA1 also bound close to the transcriptional start sites of a large number of cellular genes, including HDAC3, CDC7, and MAP3K1, which we show are positively regulated by EBNA1. EBNA1 binding sites were enriched in some repetitive elements, especially LINE 1 retrotransposons, and had weak correlations with histone modifications and ORC binding. We conclude that EBNA1 can interact with a large number of cellular genes and chromosomal loci in latently infected cells, but that these sites are likely to represent a complex ensemble of direct and indirect EBNA1 binding sites.

Telomeric repeat mutagenicity in human somatic cells is modulated by repeat orientation and G-quadruplex stability

Telomeres consisting of tandem guanine-rich repeats can form secondary DNA structures called G-quadruplexes that represent potential targets for DNA repair enzymes. While G-quadruplexes interfere with DNA synthesis in vitro, the impact of G-quadruplex formation on telomeric repeat replication in human cells is not clear. We investigated the mutagenicity of telomeric repeats as a function of G-quadruplex folding opportunity and thermal stability using a shuttle vector mutagenesis assay. Since single-stranded DNA during lagging strand replication increases the opportunity for G-quadruplex folding, we tested vectors with G-rich sequences on the lagging versus the leading strand. Contrary to our prediction, vectors containing human [TTAGGG]₁₀ repeats with a G-rich lagging strand were significantly less mutagenic than vectors with a G-rich leading strand, after replication in normal human cells. We show by UV melting experiments that G-quadruplexes from ciliates [TTGGGG]₄ and [TTTTGGGG]₄ are thermally more stable compared to human [TTAGGG]₄. Consistent with this, replication of vectors with ciliate [TTGGGG]₁₀ repeats yielded a 3-fold higher mutant rate compared to the human [TTAGGG]₁₀ vectors. Furthermore, we observed significantly more mutagenic events in the ciliate repeats compared to the human repeats. Our data demonstrate that increased G-quadruplex opportunity (repeat orientation) in human telomeric repeats decreased mutagenicity, while increased thermal stability of telomeric G-quadruplexes was associated with increased mutagenicity.

CTCF prevents the epigenetic drift of EBV latency promoter Qp

The establishment and maintenance of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) latent infection requires distinct viral gene expression programs. These gene expression programs, termed latency types, are determined largely by promoter selection, and controlled through the interplay between cell-type specific transcription factors, chromatin structure, and epigenetic modifications. We used a genome-wide chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay to identify epigenetic modifications that correlate with different latency types. We found that the chromatin insulator protein CTCF binds at several key regulatory nodes in the EBV genome and may compartmentalize epigenetic modifications across the viral genome. Highly enriched CTCF binding sites were identified at the promoter regions upstream of Cp, Wp, EBERs, and Qp. Since Qp is essential for long-term maintenance of viral genomes in type I latency and epithelial cell infections, we focused on the role of CTCF in regulating Qp. Purified CTCF bound ∼40 bp upstream of the EBNA1 binding sites located at +10 bp relative to the transcriptional initiation site at Qp. Mutagenesis of the CTCF binding site in EBV bacmids resulted in a decrease in the recovery of stable hygromycin-resistant episomes in 293 cells. EBV lacking the Qp CTCF site showed a decrease in Qp transcription initiation and a corresponding increase in Cp and Fp promoter utilization at 8 weeks post-transfection. However, by 16 weeks post-transfection, bacmids lacking CTCF sites had no detectable Qp transcription and showed high levels of histone H3 K9 methylation and CpG DNA methylation at the Qp initiation site. These findings provide direct genetic evidence that CTCF functions as a chromatin insulator that prevents the promiscuous transcription of surrounding genes and blocks the epigenetic silencing of an essential promoter, Qp, during EBV latent infection.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) establishes a latent infection that is associated with several lymphoid and epithelial cell malignancies. The latent virus persists as a circular minichromosome in the nucleus of infected cells. Epigenetic modifications of the viral DNA and chromatin are known to control viral gene expression and genome stability, but the nature and mechanisms of these epigenetic marks are not known. Here, we use viral genome-wide analysis to characterize patterns of DNA and histone methylation, and how these are organized by the chromatin boundary factor CTCF. Mutation of one such CTCF site at the EBV Q promoter results in aberrant accumulation of DNA CpG methylation and histone H3 K9 trimethylation, and the consequent silencing of Qp transcription. We conclude that CTCF chromatin insulator function is required for the epigenetic programming and stable maintenance of latent viral infection.

Discovery of selective inhibitors against EBNA1 via high throughput in silico virtual screening

BACKGROUND

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) latent infection is associated with several human malignancies and is a causal agent of lymphoproliferative diseases during immunosuppression. While inhibitors of herpesvirus DNA polymerases, like gancyclovir, reduce EBV lytic cycle infection, these treatments have limited efficacy for treating latent infection. EBNA1 is an EBV-encoded DNA-binding protein required for viral genome maintenance during latent infection.

METHODOLOGY

Here, we report the identification of a new class of small molecules that inhibit EBNA1 DNA binding activity. These compounds were identified by virtual screening of 90,000 low molecular mass compounds using computational docking programs with the solved crystal structure of EBNA1. Four structurally related compounds were found to inhibit EBNA1-DNA binding in biochemical assays with purified EBNA1 protein. Compounds had a range of 20-100 microM inhibition of EBNA1 in fluorescence polarization assays and were further validated for inhibition using electrophoresis mobility shift assays. These compounds exhibited no significant inhibition of an unrelated DNA binding protein. Three of these compounds inhibited EBNA1 transcription activation function in cell-based assays and reduced EBV genome copy number when incubated with a Burkitt lymphoma cell line.

CONCLUSIONS

These experiments provide a proof-of-principle that virtual screening can be used to identify specific inhibitors of EBNA1 that may have potential for treatment of EBV latent infection.

Increased origin activity in transformed versus normal cells: identification of novel protein players involved in DNA replication and cellular transformation

Using libraries of replication origins generated previously, we identified three clones that supported the autonomous replication of their respective plasmids in transformed, but not in normal cells. Assessment of their in vivo replication activity by in situ chromosomal DNA replication assays revealed that the chromosomal loci corresponding to these clones coincided with chromosomal replication origins in all cell lines, which were more active by 2-3-fold in the transformed by comparison to the normal cells. Evaluation of pre-replication complex (pre-RC) protein abundance at these origins in transformed and normal cells by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, using anti-ORC2, -cdc6 and -cdt1 antibodies, showed that they were bound by these pre-RC proteins in all cell lines, but a 2-3-fold higher abundance was observed in the transformed by comparison to the normal cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) performed on the most efficiently replicating clone, using nuclear extracts from the transformed and normal cells, revealed the presence of a DNA replication complex in transformed cells, which was barely detectable in normal cells. Subsequent supershift EMSAs suggested the presence of transformation-specific complexes. Mass spectrometric analysis of these complexes revealed potential new protein players involved in DNA replication that appear to correlate with cellular transformation.

Regulation of Epstein-Barr virus origin of plasmid replication (OriP) by the S-phase checkpoint kinase Chk2

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) origin of plasmid replication (OriP) is required for episome stability during latent infection. Telomere repeat factor 2 (TRF2) binds directly to OriP and facilitates DNA replication and plasmid maintenance. Recent studies have found that TRF2 interacts with the DNA damage checkpoint protein Chk2. We show here that Chk2 plays an important role in regulating OriP plasmid stability, chromatin modifications, and replication timing. The depletion of Chk2 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) leads to a reduction in DNA replication efficiency and a loss of OriP-dependent plasmid maintenance. This corresponds to a change in OriP replication timing and an increase in constitutive histone H3 acetylation. We show that Chk2 interacts with TRF2 in the early G(1)/S phase of the cell cycle. We also show that Chk2 can phosphorylate TRF2 in vitro at a consensus acceptor site in the amino-terminal basic domain of TRF2. TRF2 mutants with a serine-to-aspartic acid phosphomimetic substitution mutation were reduced in their ability to recruit the origin recognition complex (ORC) and stimulate OriP replication. We suggest that the Chk2 phosphorylation of TRF2 is important for coordinating ORC binding with chromatin remodeling during the early S phase and that a failure to execute these events leads to replication defects and plasmid instability.

Phosphorylation sites of Epstein-Barr virus EBNA1 regulate its function

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis and a risk factor for developing a variety of lymphomas and carcinomas. EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is the only viral protein found in all EBV-related malignancies. It plays a key role in establishing and maintaining the altered state of cells transformed with EBV. EBNA1 is required for a variety of functions, including gene regulation, replication and maintenance of the viral genome, but the regulation of EBNA1's functions is poorly understood. We demonstrate that phosphorylation affects the functions of EBNA1. By using electron-transfer dissociation tandem mass spectrometry, ten specific phosphorylated EBNA1 residues were identified. A mutant derivative preventing the phosphorylation of all ten phosphosites retained the unusually long half-life and the ability to translocate into the nucleus of wild-type EBNA1. This phosphorylation-deficient mutant, however, had a significantly reduced ability to activate transcription and to maintain EBV's plasmids in cells.

Identifying sites bound by Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) in the human genome: defining a position-weighted matrix to predict sites bound by EBNA1 in viral genomes

We identified binding sites for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) in the human genome using chromatin immunoprecipitation and microarrays. The sequences for these newly identified sites were used to generate a position-weighted matrix (PWM) for EBNA1's DNA-binding sites. This PWM helped identify additional DNA-binding sites for EBNA1 in the genomes of EBV, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, and cercopithecine herpesvirus 15 (CeHV-15) (also called herpesvirus papio 15). In particular, a homologue of the Rep* locus in EBV was predicted in the genome of CeHV-15, which is notable because Rep* of EBV was not predicted by the previously developed consensus sequence for EBNA1's binding DNA. The Rep* of CeHV-15 functions as an origin of DNA synthesis in the EBV-positive cell line Raji; this finding thus builds on a set of DNA-binding sites for EBNA1 predicted in silico.

Identifying a property of origins of DNA synthesis required to support plasmids stably in human cells

The plasmid origin of replication, oriP, of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) was identified in an assay to detect autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) in human cells. Raji ori, a second origin in EBV, functions in vivo but fails in long-term ARS assays. We examined the initiating element, DS, within oriP and Raji ori to resolve this paradox. DS, but not Raji ori, binds EBNA1; whereas both act as ARSs in short-term assays, with DS being more efficient, only DS can act as an ARS in long-term assays. Surprisingly, we found that DS supported the establishment of a plasmid with Raji ori in cis and that after deletion of DS, Raji ori could now act as an ARS in the long term. This finding explains the frequent failure of ARS assays in mammalian cells. More origins can initially act as ARSs than can be established. We identified one requirement for ARSs to be established: They must function efficiently enough initially to generate a wide distribution of numbers of plasmids per cell. Only the cells that have more than a threshold number of plasmids can survive selections imposed on the cells to retain these replicons.

The affinity of EBNA1 for its origin of DNA synthesis is a determinant of the origin's replicative efficiency

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replicates its genome as a licensed plasmid in latently infected cells. Although replication of this plasmid is essential for EBV latent infection, its synthesis still fails for 16% of the templates in S phase. In order to understand these failures, we sought to determine whether the affinity of the initiator protein (EBNA1) for its binding sites in the origin affects the efficiency of plasmid replication. We have answered this question by using several engineered origins modeled upon the arrangement of EBNA1-binding sites found in DS, the major plasmid origin of EBV. The human TRF2 protein also binds to half-sites in DS and increases EBNA1's affinity for its own sites; we therefore also tested origin efficiency in the presence or absence of these sites. We have found that if TRF2-half-binding sites are present, the efficiency of supporting the initiation of DNA synthesis and of establishing a plasmid bearing that origin directly correlates with the affinity of EBNA1 for that origin. Moreover, the presence of TRF2-half-binding sites also increases the average level of EBNA1 and ORC2 bound to those origins in vivo, as measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Lastly, we have created an origin of DNA synthesis from high-affinity EBNA1-binding sites and TRF2-half-binding sites that functions severalfold more efficiently than does DS. This finding indicates that EBV has selected a submaximally efficient origin of DNA synthesis for the latent phase of its life cycle. This enhanced origin could be used practically in human gene vectors to improve their efficiency in therapy and basic research.

The coupling of synthesis and partitioning of EBV's plasmid replicon is revealed in live cells

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is an exceptionally successful human viral pathogen maintained as a licensed, plasmid replicon in proliferating cells. We have measured the distributions of EBV-derived plasmids in single live cells throughout the cell cycle in the absence of selection and confirmed the measured rates of duplication and partitioning computationally and experimentally. These analyses have uncovered a striking, non-random partitioning for this minimalist plasmid replicon and revealed additional properties of it and its host cells: (1) 84% of the plasmids duplicate during each S phase; (2) all duplicated plasmids are spatially colocalized as pairs, a positioning that is coupled to their non-random partitioning; (3) each clone of cells requires a certain threshold number of plasmids per cell for its optimal growth under selection; (4) defects in plasmid synthesis and partitioning are balanced to yield wide distributions of plasmids in clonal populations of cells for which the plasmids provide a selective advantage. These properties of its plasmid replicon underlie EBV's success as a human pathogen.

Chromatin profiling of Epstein-Barr virus latency control region

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) escapes host immunity by the reversible and epigenetic silencing of immunogenic viral genes. We previously presented evidence that a dynamic chromatin domain, which we have referred to as the latency control region (LCR), contributes to the reversible repression of EBNA2 and LMP1 gene transcription. We now explore the protein-DNA interaction profiles for a few known regulatory factors and histone modifications that regulate LCR structure and activity. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay combined with real-time PCR analysis was used to analyze protein-DNA interactions at approximately 500-bp intervals across the first 60,000 bp of the EBV genome. We compared the binding patterns of EBNA1 with those of the origin recognition complex protein ORC2, the chromatin boundary factor CTCF, the linker histone H1, and several histone modifications. We analyzed three EBV-positive cell lines (MutuI, Raji, and LCL3459) with distinct transcription patterns reflecting different latency types. Our findings suggest that histone modification patterns within the LCR are complex but reflect differences in each latency type. The most striking finding was the identification of CTCF sites immediately upstream of the Qp, Cp, and EBER transcription initiation regions in all three cell types. In transient assays, CTCF facilitated EBNA1-dependent transcription activation of Cp, suggesting that CTCF coordinates interactions between different chromatin domains. We also found that histone H3 methyl K4 clustered with CTCF and EBNA1 at sites of active transcription or DNA replication initiation. Our findings support a model where CTCF delineates multiple domains within the LCR and regulates interactions between these domains that correlate with changes in gene expression.

The plasmid replicon of Epstein-Barr virus: mechanistic insights into efficient, licensed, extrachromosomal replication in human cells

The genome of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and plasmid derivatives of it are among the most efficient extrachromosomal replicons in mammalian cells. The latent origin of plasmid replication (oriP), when supplied with the viral Epstein-Barr Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1) in trans, provides efficient duplication, partitioning and maintenance of plasmids bearing it. In this review, we detail what is known about the viral cis and trans elements required for plasmid replication. In addition, we describe how the cellular factors that EBV usurps are used to complement the functions of the viral constituents. Finally, we propose a model for the sequential assembly of an EBNA1-dependent origin of DNA synthesis into a pre-Replicative Complex (pre-RC), which functions by making use only of cellular enzymatic activities to carry out the replication of the viral plasmid.

Smad4 cooperates with lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1/T cell-specific factor to increase c-myc expression in the absence of TGF-beta signaling

The c-myc protooncogene is a key regulator of cell proliferation whose expression is reduced in normal epithelial cells in response to the growth inhibitory cytokine TGF-beta. Smad4 mediates this inhibitory effect of TGF-beta by forming a complex with Smad3, E2F4/5, and p107 at the TGF-beta inhibitory element (TIE) element on the c-myc promoter. In contrast, cell proliferation and c-myc expression are increased in response to Wnt ligands; this effect is mediated through the lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1/T cell-specific factor (LEF/TCF) family of transcription factors on the c-myc promoter LEF/TCF-binding elements (TBE1 and TBE2). We report that a peptide aptamer designed to inhibit the binding between Smad4 and LEF/TCF reduced c-myc expression and the growth rate of HepG2 cells. Further analysis demonstrated that, in the absence of TGF-beta, Smad4 was bound to the positive regulatory element TBE1 from the c-myc promoter and activated c-myc promoter activity. Smad4 binding to the positive TBE1 c-myc element was reduced by TGF-beta, consistent with Smad4's inhibitory role on c-myc expression in response to TGF-beta. Reduction of Smad4 levels by RNAi knockdown also reduced c-myc expression levels and sensitized hepatocytes to cell death by serum deprivation. Two tumor-derived mutant Smad4 proteins that fail to mediate TGF-beta responses were still competent to cooperate with LEF1 to activate the c-myc promoter. These results support a previously unreported TGF-beta-independent function for Smad4 in cooperating with LEF/TCF to activate c-myc expression.

Transcriptional activation by EBV nuclear antigen 1 is essential for the expression of EBV's transforming genes

EBV is a paradigm for human tumor viruses because, although it infects most people benignly, it also can cause a variety of cancers. Both in vivo and in vitro, EBV infects B lymphocytes in G0, induces them to become blasts, and can maintain their proliferation in cell culture or in vivo as tumors. How EBV succeeds in these contrasting cellular environments in expressing its genes that control the host has not been explained. We have genetically dissected the EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) gene that is required for replication of the viral genome, to elucidate its possible role in the transcription of viral genes. Strikingly, EBNA1 is essential to drive transcription of EBV's transforming genes after infection of primary B lymphocytes.