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Bristol JA, Nelson SE, Ohashi M, Casco A, Hayes M, Ranheim EA, Pawelski AS, Singh DR, Hodson DJ, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. Latent Epstein-Barr virus infection collaborates with Myc over-expression in normal human B cells to induce Burkitt-like Lymphomas in mice. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012132. [PMID: 38620028 PMCID: PMC11045125 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an important cause of human lymphomas, including Burkitt lymphoma (BL). EBV+ BLs are driven by Myc translocation and have stringent forms of viral latency that do not express either of the two major EBV oncoproteins, EBNA2 (which mimics Notch signaling) and LMP1 (which activates NF-κB signaling). Suppression of Myc-induced apoptosis, often through mutation of the TP53 (p53) gene or inhibition of pro-apoptotic BCL2L11 (BIM) gene expression, is required for development of Myc-driven BLs. EBV+ BLs contain fewer cellular mutations in apoptotic pathways compared to EBV-negative BLs, suggesting that latent EBV infection inhibits Myc-induced apoptosis. Here we use an EBNA2-deleted EBV virus (ΔEBNA2 EBV) to create the first in vivo model for EBV+ BL-like lymphomas derived from primary human B cells. We show that cord blood B cells infected with both ΔEBNA2 EBV and a Myc-expressing vector proliferate indefinitely on a CD40L/IL21 expressing feeder layer in vitro and cause rapid onset EBV+ BL-like tumors in NSG mice. These LMP1/EBNA2-negative Myc-driven lymphomas have wild type p53 and very low BIM, and express numerous germinal center B cell proteins (including TCF3, BACH2, Myb, CD10, CCDN3, and GCSAM) in the absence of BCL6 expression. Myc-induced activation of Myb mediates expression of many of these BL-associated proteins. We demonstrate that Myc blocks LMP1 expression both by inhibiting expression of cellular factors (STAT3 and Src) that activate LMP1 transcription and by increasing expression of proteins (DNMT3B and UHRF1) known to enhance DNA methylation of the LMP1 promoters in human BLs. These results show that latent EBV infection collaborates with Myc over-expression to induce BL-like human B-cell lymphomas in mice. As NF-κB signaling retards the growth of EBV-negative BLs, Myc-mediated repression of LMP1 may be essential for latent EBV infection and Myc translocation to collaboratively induce human BLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Alejandro Casco
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mitchell Hayes
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Erik A. Ranheim
- Department of Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Abigail S. Pawelski
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Deo R. Singh
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Daniel J. Hodson
- Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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Singh DR, Nelson SE, Pawelski AS, Kansra AS, Fogarty SA, Bristol JA, Ohashi M, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. Epstein-Barr virus LMP1 protein promotes proliferation and inhibits differentiation of epithelial cells via activation of YAP and TAZ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2219755120. [PMID: 37155846 PMCID: PMC10193989 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2219755120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection promotes undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs) in humans, but the mechanism(s) for this effect has been difficult to study because EBV cannot transform normal epithelial cells in vitro and the EBV genome is often lost when NPC cells are grown in culture. Here we show that the latent EBV protein, LMP1 (Latent membrane protein 1), induces cellular proliferation and inhibits spontaneous differentiation of telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes (NOKs) in growth factor-deficient conditions by increasing the activity of the Hippo pathway effectors, YAP (Yes-associated protein) and TAZ (Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif). We demonstrate that LMP1 enhances YAP and TAZ activity in NOKs both by decreasing Hippo pathway-mediated serine phosphorylation of YAP and TAZ and increasing Src kinase-mediated Y357 phosphorylation of YAP. Furthermore, knockdown of YAP and TAZ is sufficient to reduce proliferation and promote differentiation in EBV-infected NOKs. We find that YAP and TAZ are also required for LMP1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Importantly, we demonstrate that ibrutinib (an FDA-approved BTK inhibitor that blocks YAP and TAZ activity through an off-target effect) restores spontaneous differentiation and inhibits proliferation of EBV-infected NOKs at clinically relevant doses. These results suggest that LMP1-induced YAP and TAZ activity contributes to the development of NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deo R. Singh
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Abigail S. Pawelski
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Alisha S. Kansra
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Stuart A. Fogarty
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WIMR II, Madison, WI53705
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Singh DR, Nelson SE, Pawelski AS, Cantres-Velez JA, Kansra AS, Pauly NP, Bristol JA, Hayes M, Ohashi M, Casco A, Lee D, Fogarty SA, Lambert PF, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. Type 1 and Type 2 Epstein-Barr viruses induce proliferation, and inhibit differentiation, in infected telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010868. [PMID: 36190982 PMCID: PMC9529132 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Differentiated epithelial cells are an important source of infectious EBV virions in human saliva, and latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is strongly associated with the epithelial cell tumor, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, it has been difficult to model how EBV contributes to NPC, since EBV has not been shown to enhance proliferation of epithelial cells in monolayer culture in vitro and is not stably maintained in epithelial cells without antibiotic selection. In addition, although there are two major types of EBV (type 1 (T1) and type 2 (T2)), it is currently unknown whether T1 and T2 EBV behave differently in epithelial cells. Here we inserted a G418 resistance gene into the T2 EBV strain, AG876, allowing us to compare the phenotypes of T1 Akata virus versus T2 AG876 virus in a telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocyte cell line (NOKs) using a variety of different methods, including RNA-seq analysis, proliferation assays, immunoblot analyses, and air-liquid interface culture. We show that both T1 Akata virus infection and T2 AG876 virus infection of NOKs induce cellular proliferation, and inhibit spontaneous differentiation, in comparison to the uninfected cells when cells are grown without supplemental growth factors in monolayer culture. T1 EBV and T2 EBV also have a similar ability to induce epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) transition and activate canonical and non-canonical NF-κB signaling in infected NOKs. In contrast to our recent results in EBV-infected lymphoblastoid cells (in which T2 EBV infection is much more lytic than T1 EBV infection), we find that NOKs infected with T1 and T2 EBV respond similarly to lytic inducing agents such as TPA treatment or differentiation. These results suggest that T1 and T2 EBV have similar phenotypes in infected epithelial cells, with both EBV types enhancing cellular proliferation and inhibiting differentiation when growth factors are limiting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deo R. Singh
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Abigail S. Pawelski
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Juan A. Cantres-Velez
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Alisha S. Kansra
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Nicholas P. Pauly
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mitchell Hayes
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Alejandro Casco
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Denis Lee
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Stuart A. Fogarty
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Paul F. Lambert
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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Ali A, Ohashi M, Casco A, Djavadian R, Eichelberg M, Kenney SC, Johannsen E. Rta is the principal activator of Epstein-Barr virus epithelial lytic transcription. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010886. [PMID: 36174106 PMCID: PMC9553042 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The transition from latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection to lytic viral replication is mediated by the viral transcription factors Rta and Zta. Although both are required for virion production, dissecting the specific roles played by Rta and Zta is challenging because they induce each other's expression. To circumvent this, we constructed an EBV mutant deleted for the genes encoding Rta and Zta (BRLF1 and BZLF1, respectively) in the Akata strain BACmid. This mutant, termed EBVΔRZ, was used to infect several epithelial cell lines, including telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes, a highly physiologic model of EBV epithelial cell infection. Using RNA-seq, we determined the gene expression induced by each viral transactivator. Surprisingly, Zta alone only induced expression of the lytic origin transcripts BHLF1 and LF3. In contrast, Rta activated the majority of EBV early gene transcripts. As expected, Zta and Rta were both required for expression of late gene transcripts. Zta also cooperated with Rta to enhance a subset of early gene transcripts (Rtasynergy transcripts) that Zta was unable to activate when expressed alone. Interestingly, Rta and Zta each cooperatively enhanced the other's binding to EBV early gene promoters, but this effect was not restricted to promoters where synergy was observed. We demonstrate that Zta did not affect Rtasynergy transcript stability, but increased Rtasynergy gene transcription despite having no effect on their transcription when expressed alone. Our results suggest that, at least in epithelial cells, Rta is the dominant transactivator and that Zta functions primarily to support DNA replication and co-activate a subset of early promoters with Rta. This closely parallels the arrangement in KSHV where ORF50 (Rta homolog) is the principal activator of lytic transcription and K8 (Zta homolog) is required for DNA replication at oriLyt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Ali
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
- National Center for Research, Khartoum, Sudan
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Alejandro Casco
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Reza Djavadian
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mark Eichelberg
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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5
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Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous, oncogenic virus that is associated with a number of different human malignancies as well as autoimmune disorders. The expression of EBV viral proteins and non-coding RNAs contribute to EBV-mediated disease pathologies. The virus establishes life-long latency in the human host and is adept at evading host innate and adaptive immune responses. In this review, we discuss the life cycle of EBV, the various functions of EBV-encoded proteins and RNAs, the ability of the virus to activate and evade immune responses, as well as the neoplastic and autoimmune diseases that are associated with EBV infection in the human population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blossom Damania
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, and Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Nancy Raab-Traub
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Van Sciver N, Ohashi M, Nawandar DM, Pauly NP, Lee D, Makielski KR, Bristol JA, Tsao SW, Lambert PF, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. ΔNp63α promotes Epstein-Barr virus latency in undifferentiated epithelial cells. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1010045. [PMID: 34748616 PMCID: PMC8601603 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus that causes infectious mononucleosis and contributes to both B-cell and epithelial-cell malignancies. EBV-infected epithelial cell tumors, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), are largely composed of latently infected cells, but the mechanism(s) maintaining viral latency are poorly understood. Expression of the EBV BZLF1 (Z) and BRLF1 (R) encoded immediate-early (IE) proteins induces lytic infection, and these IE proteins activate each other's promoters. ΔNp63α (a p53 family member) is required for proliferation and survival of basal epithelial cells and is over-expressed in NPC tumors. Here we show that ΔNp63α promotes EBV latency by inhibiting activation of the BZLF1 IE promoter (Zp). Furthermore, we find that another p63 gene splice variant, TAp63α, which is expressed in some Burkitt and diffuse large B cell lymphomas, also represses EBV lytic reactivation. We demonstrate that ΔNp63α inhibits the Z promoter indirectly by preventing the ability of other transcription factors, including the viral IE R protein and the cellular KLF4 protein, to activate Zp. Mechanistically, we show that ΔNp63α promotes viral latency in undifferentiated epithelial cells both by enhancing expression of a known Zp repressor protein, c-myc, and by decreasing cellular p38 kinase activity. Furthermore, we find that the ability of cis-platinum chemotherapy to degrade ΔNp63α contributes to the lytic-inducing effect of this agent in EBV-infected epithelial cells. Together these findings demonstrate that the loss of ΔNp63α expression, in conjunction with enhanced expression of differentiation-dependent transcription factors such as BLIMP1 and KLF4, induces lytic EBV reactivation during normal epithelial cell differentiation. Conversely, expression of ΔNp63α in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and TAp63α in Burkitt lymphoma promotes EBV latency in these malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Van Sciver
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Dhananjay M. Nawandar
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Currently at Ring Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nicholas P. Pauly
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Denis Lee
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Kathleen R. Makielski
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Sai Wah Tsao
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul F. Lambert
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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Van Sciver N, Ohashi M, Pauly NP, Bristol JA, Nelson SE, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. Hippo signaling effectors YAP and TAZ induce Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) lytic reactivation through TEADs in epithelial cells. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009783. [PMID: 34339458 PMCID: PMC8360610 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) human herpesvirus is associated with B-cell and epithelial-cell malignancies, and both the latent and lytic forms of viral infection contribute to the development of EBV-associated tumors. Here we show that the Hippo signaling effectors, YAP and TAZ, promote lytic EBV reactivation in epithelial cells. The transcriptional co-activators YAP/TAZ (which are inhibited by Hippo signaling) interact with DNA-binding proteins, particularly TEADs, to induce transcription. We demonstrate that depletion of either YAP or TAZ inhibits the ability of phorbol ester (TPA) treatment, cellular differentiation or the EBV BRLF1 immediate-early (IE) protein to induce lytic EBV reactivation in oral keratinocytes, and show that over-expression of constitutively active forms of YAP and TAZ reactivate lytic EBV infection in conjunction with TEAD family members. Mechanistically, we find that YAP and TAZ interact with, and activate, the EBV BZLF1 immediate-early promoter. Furthermore, we demonstrate that YAP, TAZ, and TEAD family members are expressed at much higher levels in epithelial cell lines in comparison to B-cell lines, and find that EBV infection of oral keratinocytes increases the level of activated (dephosphorylated) YAP and TAZ. Finally, we have discovered that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a known YAP/TAZ activator that plays an important role in inflammation, induces EBV lytic reactivation in epithelial cells through a YAP/TAZ dependent mechanism. Together these results establish that YAP/TAZ are powerful inducers of the lytic form of EBV infection and suggest that the ability of EBV to enter latency in B cells at least partially reflects the extremely low levels of YAP/TAZ and TEADs in this cell type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Van Sciver
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Cellular and Molecular Pathology Graduate Training Program, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Nicholas P. Pauly
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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Li C, Romero-Masters JC, Huebner S, Ohashi M, Hayes M, Bristol JA, Nelson SE, Eichelberg MR, Van Sciver N, Ranheim EA, Scott RS, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. EBNA2-deleted Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) isolate, P3HR1, causes Hodgkin-like lymphomas and diffuse large B cell lymphomas with type II and Wp-restricted latency types in humanized mice. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008590. [PMID: 32542010 PMCID: PMC7316346 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
EBV transforms B cells in vitro and causes human B-cell lymphomas including classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL), Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The EBV latency protein, EBNA2, transcriptionally activates the promoters of all latent viral protein-coding genes expressed in type III EBV latency and is essential for EBV's ability to transform B cells in vitro. However, EBNA2 is not expressed in EBV-infected CHLs and BLs in humans. EBV-positive CHLs have type II latency and are largely driven by the EBV LMP1/LMP2A proteins, while EBV-positive BLs, which usually have type I latency are largely driven by c-Myc translocations, and only express the EBNA1 protein and viral non-coding RNAs. Approximately 15% of human BLs contain naturally occurring EBNA2-deleted viruses that support a form of viral latency known as Wp-restricted (expressing the EBNA-LP, EBNA3A/3B/3C, EBNA1 and BHRF1 proteins), but whether Wp-restricted latency and/or EBNA2-deleted EBV can induce lymphomas in humanized mice, or in the absence of c-Myc translocations, is unknown. Here we show that a naturally occurring EBNA2-deleted EBV strain (P3HR1) isolated from a human BL induces EBV-positive B-cell lymphomas in a subset of infected cord blood-humanized (CBH) mice. Furthermore, we find that P3HR1-infected lymphoma cells support two different viral latency types and phenotypes that are mutually exclusive: 1) Large (often multinucleated), CD30-positive, CD45-negative cells reminiscent of the Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells in CHL that express high levels of LMP1 but not EBNA-LP (consistent with type II viral latency); and 2) smaller monomorphic CD30-negative DLBCL-like cells that express EBNA-LP and EBNA3A but not LMP1 (consistent with Wp-restricted latency). These results reveal that EBNA2 is not absolutely required for EBV to form tumors in CBH mice and suggest that P3HR1 virus can be used to model EBV positive lymphomas with both Wp-restricted and type II latency in vivo.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Cell Line
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/genetics
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/metabolism
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/pathology
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/virology
- Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens/genetics
- Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens/metabolism
- Gene Deletion
- Herpesvirus 4, Human/pathogenicity
- Herpesvirus 4, Human/physiology
- Hodgkin Disease/genetics
- Hodgkin Disease/metabolism
- Hodgkin Disease/pathology
- Hodgkin Disease/virology
- Humans
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/metabolism
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology
- Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/virology
- Mice
- Viral Proteins/genetics
- Viral Proteins/metabolism
- Virus Latency
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunrong Li
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - James C. Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shane Huebner
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mitchell Hayes
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mark R. Eichelberg
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Van Sciver
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Erik A. Ranheim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Rona S. Scott
- Center for Molecular and Tumor Virology, LSU Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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9
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Romero-Masters JC, Ohashi M, Djavadian R, Eichelberg MR, Hayes M, Zumwalde NA, Bristol JA, Nelson SE, Ma S, Ranheim EA, Gumperz JE, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. An EBNA3A-Mutated Epstein-Barr Virus Retains the Capacity for Lymphomagenesis in a Cord Blood-Humanized Mouse Model. J Virol 2020; 94:e02168-19. [PMID: 32132242 PMCID: PMC7199417 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02168-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes B cell lymphomas and transforms B cells in vitro The EBV protein EBNA3A collaborates with EBNA3C to repress p16 expression and is required for efficient transformation in vitro An EBNA3A deletion mutant EBV strain was recently reported to establish latency in humanized mice but not cause tumors. Here, we compare the phenotypes of an EBNA3A mutant EBV (Δ3A) and wild-type (WT) EBV in a cord blood-humanized (CBH) mouse model. The hypomorphic Δ3A mutant, in which a stop codon is inserted downstream from the first ATG and the open reading frame is disrupted by a 1-bp insertion, expresses very small amounts of EBNA3A using an alternative ATG at residue 15. Δ3A caused B cell lymphomas at rates similar to their induction by WT EBV but with delayed onset. Δ3A and WT tumors expressed equivalent levels of EBNA2 and p16, but Δ3A tumors in some cases had reduced LMP1. Like the WT EBV tumors, Δ3A lymphomas were oligoclonal/monoclonal, with typically one dominant IGHV gene being expressed. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed small but consistent gene expression differences involving multiple cellular genes in the WT EBV- versus Δ3A-infected tumors and increased expression of genes associated with T cells, suggesting increased T cell infiltration of tumors. Consistent with an impact of EBNA3A on immune function, we found that the expression of CLEC2D, a receptor that has previously been shown to influence responses of T and NK cells, was markedly diminished in cells infected with EBNA3A mutant virus. Together, these studies suggest that EBNA3A contributes to efficient EBV-induced lymphomagenesis in CBH mice.IMPORTANCE The EBV protein EBNA3A is expressed in latently infected B cells and is important for efficient EBV-induced transformation of B cells in vitro In this study, we used a cord blood-humanized mouse model to compare the phenotypes of an EBNA3A hypomorph mutant virus (Δ3A) and wild-type EBV. The Δ3A virus caused lymphomas with delayed onset compared to the onset of those caused by WT EBV, although the tumors occurred at a similar rate. The WT EBV and EBNA3A mutant tumors expressed similar levels of the EBV protein EBNA2 and cellular protein p16, but in some cases, Δ3A tumors had less LMP1. Our analysis suggested that Δ3A-infected tumors have elevated T cell infiltrates and decreased expression of the CLEC2D receptor, which may point to potential novel roles of EBNA3A in T cell and NK cell responses to EBV-infected tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Reza Djavadian
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Mark R Eichelberg
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Mitchell Hayes
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Nicholas A Zumwalde
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jillian A Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Scott E Nelson
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shidong Ma
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Erik A Ranheim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jenny E Gumperz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Eric C Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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10
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Romero-Masters JC, Huebner SM, Ohashi M, Bristol JA, Benner BE, Barlow EA, Turk GL, Nelson SE, Baiu DC, Van Sciver N, Ranheim EA, Gumperz J, Sherer NM, Farrell PJ, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. B cells infected with Type 2 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have increased NFATc1/NFATc2 activity and enhanced lytic gene expression in comparison to Type 1 EBV infection. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008365. [PMID: 32059024 PMCID: PMC7046292 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are infected with two distinct strains (Type 1 (T1) and Type 2 (T2)) of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that differ substantially in their EBNA2 and EBNA 3A/B/C latency genes and the ability to transform B cells in vitro. While most T1 EBV strains contain the "prototype" form of the BZLF1 immediate-early promoter ("Zp-P"), all T2 strains contain the "Zp-V3" variant, which contains an NFAT binding motif and is activated much more strongly by B-cell receptor signalling. Whether B cells infected with T2 EBV are more lytic than cells infected with T1 EBV is unknown. Here we show that B cells infected with T2 EBV strains (AG876 and BL5) have much more lytic protein expression compared to B cells infected with T1 EBV strains (M81, Akata, and Mutu) in both a cord blood-humanized (CBH) mouse model and EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Although T2 LCLs grow more slowly than T1 LCLs, both EBV types induce B-cell lymphomas in CBH mice. T1 EBV strains (M81 and Akata) containing Zp-V3 are less lytic than T2 EBV strains, suggesting that Zp-V3 is not sufficient to confer a lytic phenotype. Instead, we find that T2 LCLs express much higher levels of activated NFATc1 and NFATc2, and that cyclosporine (an NFAT inhibitor) and knockdown of NFATc2 attenuate constitutive lytic infection in T2 LCLs. Both NFATc1 and NFATc2 induce lytic EBV gene expression when combined with activated CAMKIV (which is activated by calcium signaling and activates MEF2D) in Burkitt Akata cells. Together, these results suggest that B cells infected with T2 EBV are more lytic due to increased activity of the cellular NFATc1/c2 transcription factors in addition to the universal presence of the Zp-V3 form of BZLF1 promoter.
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Affiliation(s)
- James C. Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shane M. Huebner
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Bayleigh E. Benner
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Barlow
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Gail L. Turk
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Scott E. Nelson
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Dana C. Baiu
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Nicholas Van Sciver
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Erik A. Ranheim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jenny Gumperz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Nathan M. Sherer
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Paul J. Farrell
- Section of Virology, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Norfolk Place, London, United Kingdom
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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11
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Eichelberg MR, Welch R, Guidry JT, Ali A, Ohashi M, Makielski KR, McChesney K, Van Sciver N, Lambert PF, Keleș S, Kenney SC, Scott RS, Johannsen E. Epstein-Barr Virus Infection Promotes Epithelial Cell Growth by Attenuating Differentiation-Dependent Exit from the Cell Cycle. mBio 2019; 10:e01332-19. [PMID: 31431547 PMCID: PMC6703421 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01332-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus that is associated with lymphomas as well as nasopharyngeal and gastric carcinomas. Although carcinomas account for almost 90% of EBV-associated cancers, progress in examining EBV's role in their pathogenesis has been limited by difficulty in establishing latent infection in nontransformed epithelial cells. Recently, EBV infection of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT)-immortalized normal oral keratinocytes (NOKs) has emerged as a model that recapitulates aspects of EBV infection in vivo, such as differentiation-associated viral replication. Using uninfected NOKs and NOKs infected with the Akata strain of EBV (NOKs-Akata), we examined changes in gene expression due to EBV infection and differentiation. Latent EBV infection produced very few significant gene expression changes in undifferentiated NOKs but significantly reduced the extent of differentiation-induced gene expression changes. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that differentiation-induced downregulation of the cell cycle and metabolism pathways was markedly attenuated in NOKs-Akata relative to that in uninfected NOKs. We also observed that pathways induced by differentiation were less upregulated in NOKs-Akata. We observed decreased differentiation markers and increased suprabasal MCM7 expression in NOKs-Akata versus NOKs when both were grown in raft cultures, consistent with our transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) results. These effects were also observed in NOKs infected with a replication-defective EBV mutant (AkataΔRZ), implicating mechanisms other than lytic-gene-induced host shutoff. Our results help to define the mechanisms by which EBV infection alters keratinocyte differentiation and provide a basis for understanding the role of EBV in epithelial cancers.IMPORTANCE Latent infection by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an early event in the development of EBV-associated carcinomas. In oral epithelial tissues, EBV establishes a lytic infection of differentiated epithelial cells to facilitate the spread of the virus to new hosts. Because of limitations in existing model systems, the effects of latent EBV infection on undifferentiated and differentiating epithelial cells are poorly understood. Here, we characterize latent infection of an hTERT-immortalized oral epithelial cell line (NOKs). We find that although EBV expresses a latency pattern similar to that seen in EBV-associated carcinomas, infection of undifferentiated NOKs results in differential expression of a small number of host genes. In differentiating NOKs, however, EBV has a more substantial effect, reducing the extent of differentiation and delaying the exit from the cell cycle. This effect may synergize with preexisting cellular abnormalities to prevent exit from the cell cycle, representing a critical step in the development of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R Eichelberg
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Rene Welch
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - J Tod Guidry
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, LSUHSC-S, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
| | - Ahmed Ali
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Kathleen R Makielski
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Kyle McChesney
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Nicholas Van Sciver
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Paul F Lambert
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Sündüz Keleș
- Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Rona S Scott
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, LSUHSC-S, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
| | - Eric Johannsen
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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12
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Tikhmyanova N, Paparoidamis N, Romero-Masters J, Feng X, Mohammed FS, Reddy PAN, Kenney SC, Lieberman PM, Salvino JM. Development of a novel inducer for EBV lytic therapy. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2019; 29:2259-2264. [PMID: 31255485 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2019.06.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2019] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus that infects over 90% of the world's population that persists as a latent infection in various lymphoid and epithelial malignancies. The total number of EBV associated malignancies is estimated to exceed 200,000 new cancers per year. Current chemotherapeutic treatments of EBV-positive cancers include broad-spectrum cytotoxic drugs that ignore the EBV positive status of tumors and have limited safety and selectivity. In an effort to develop new and more efficacious molecules for inducing EBV reactivation, we have developed high-throughput screening assays to identify a class of small molecules (referred to as the C60 series) that efficiently activate the EBV lytic cycle in multiple latency types, including lymphoblastoid and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. In this paper we report our preliminary structure activity relationship studies and demonstrate reactivation of EBV in the SNU719 gastric carcinoma mouse model and the AGS-Akata gastric carcinoma mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicholas Paparoidamis
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - James Romero-Masters
- Departments of Oncology and Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Xin Feng
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | | | | | - Shannon C Kenney
- Departments of Oncology and Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, United States
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13
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Romero-Masters JC, Ohashi M, Djavadian R, Eichelberg MR, Hayes M, Bristol JA, Ma S, Ranheim EA, Gumperz J, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. An EBNA3C-deleted Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) mutant causes B-cell lymphomas with delayed onset in a cord blood-humanized mouse model. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007221. [PMID: 30125329 PMCID: PMC6117096 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Revised: 08/30/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
EBV causes human B-cell lymphomas and transforms B cells in vitro. EBNA3C, an EBV protein expressed in latently-infected cells, is required for EBV transformation of B cells in vitro. While EBNA3C undoubtedly plays a key role in allowing EBV to successfully infect B cells, many EBV+ lymphomas do not express this protein, suggesting that cellular mutations and/or signaling pathways may obviate the need for EBNA3C in vivo under certain conditions. EBNA3C collaborates with EBNA3A to repress expression of the CDKN2A-encoded tumor suppressors, p16 and p14, and EBNA3C-deleted EBV transforms B cells containing a p16 germline mutation in vitro. Here we have examined the phenotype of an EBNAC-deleted virus (Δ3C EBV) in a cord blood-humanized mouse model (CBH). We found that the Δ3C virus induced fewer lymphomas (occurring with a delayed onset) in comparison to the wild-type (WT) control virus, although a subset (10/26) of Δ3C-infected CBH mice eventually developed invasive diffuse large B cell lymphomas with type III latency. Both WT and Δ3C viruses induced B-cell lymphomas with restricted B-cell populations and heterogeneous T-cell infiltration. In comparison to WT-infected tumors, Δ3C-infected tumors had greatly increased p16 levels, and RNA-seq analysis revealed a decrease in E2F target gene expression. However, we found that Δ3C-infected tumors expressed c-Myc and cyclin E at similar levels compared to WT-infected tumors, allowing cells to at least partially bypass p16-mediated cell cycle inhibition. The anti-apoptotic proteins, BCL2 and IRF4, were expressed in Δ3C-infected tumors, likely helping cells avoid c-Myc-induced apoptosis. Unexpectedly, Δ3C-infected tumors had increased T-cell infiltration, increased expression of T-cell chemokines (CCL5, CCL20 and CCL22) and enhanced type I interferon response in comparison to WT tumors. Together, these results reveal that EBNA3C contributes to, but is not essential for, EBV-induced lymphomagenesis in CBH mice, and suggest potentially important immunologic roles of EBNA3C in vivo.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Cell Transformation, Viral/genetics
- Cells, Cultured
- Disease Models, Animal
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/complications
- Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/genetics
- Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens/genetics
- Fetal Blood/immunology
- HEK293 Cells
- Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics
- Herpesvirus 4, Human/physiology
- Humans
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/immunology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/pathology
- Lymphoma, B-Cell/virology
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred NOD
- Mice, Transgenic
- Virus Latency/genetics
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Affiliation(s)
- James C. Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Reza Djavadian
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mark R. Eichelberg
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mitch Hayes
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shidong Ma
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Erik A. Ranheim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jenny Gumperz
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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14
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Bristol JA, Djavadian R, Albright ER, Coleman CB, Ohashi M, Hayes M, Romero-Masters JC, Barlow EA, Farrell PJ, Rochford R, Kalejta RF, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC. A cancer-associated Epstein-Barr virus BZLF1 promoter variant enhances lytic infection. PLoS Pathog 2018; 14:e1007179. [PMID: 30052684 PMCID: PMC6082571 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection contributes to both B-cell and epithelial-cell malignancies. However, whether lytic EBV infection also contributes to tumors is unclear, although the association between malaria infection and Burkitt lymphomas (BLs) may involve excessive lytic EBV replication. A particular variant of the viral promoter (Zp) that controls lytic EBV reactivation is over-represented, relative to its frequency in non-malignant tissue, in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinomas and AIDS-related lymphomas. To date, no functional differences between the prototype Zp (Zp-P) and the cancer-associated variant (Zp-V3) have been identified. Here we show that a single nucleotide difference between the Zp-V3 and Zp-P promoters creates a binding site for the cellular transcription factor, NFATc1, in the Zp-V3 (but not Zp-P) variant, and greatly enhances Zp activity and lytic viral reactivation in response to NFATc1-inducing stimuli such as B-cell receptor activation and ionomycin. Furthermore, we demonstrate that restoring this NFATc1-motif to the Zp-P variant in the context of the intact EBV B95.8 strain genome greatly enhances lytic viral reactivation in response to the NFATc1-activating agent, ionomycin, and this effect is blocked by the NFAT inhibitory agent, cyclosporine, as well as NFATc1 siRNA. We also show that the Zp-V3 variant is over-represented in EBV-positive BLs and gastric cancers, and in EBV-transformed B-cell lines derived from EBV-infected breast milk of Kenyan mothers that had malaria during pregnancy. These results demonstrate that the Zp-V3 enhances EBV lytic reactivation to physiologically-relevant stimuli, and suggest that increased lytic infection may contribute to the increased prevalence of this variant in EBV-associated malignancies. Whether excessive lytic EBV infection increases the risk of EBV-induced cancers is not clear. A particular variant (Zp-V3) of the viral promoter driving expression of the EBV immediate-early BZLF1 (Z) protein that mediates lytic viral reactivation has been reported to be over-represented (relative to the prototype Zp-P form of the promoter) in certain EBV-positive malignancies, but no functional difference between the two promoter variants has been reported. Here we show that the malignancy-associated Zp-V3 variant (but not the Zp-P variant) contains a binding site for the cellular NFATc1 (nuclear factor of activated T cells c1) transcription factor that allows it to be activated by NFATc1-inducing stimuli such as B-cell receptor stimulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that restoring this NFATc1-motif to the Zp-P variant in the context of the intact EBV genome greatly enhances lytic viral reactivation in response to the NFATc1-inducing stimuli. We also find that the Zp-V3 variant is over-represented in EBV-positive Burkitt lymphomas and gastric carcinomas, and in lymphoblastoid cell lines transformed by EBV-infected breast milk of Kenyan mothers that had malaria during pregnancy. These findings suggest that the Zp-V3 version of the EBV BZLF1 promoter increases the likelihood of EBV-induced malignancies by increasing lytic EBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian A. Bristol
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Reza Djavadian
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Emily R. Albright
- Department of Molecular Virology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Carrie B. Coleman
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Makoto Ohashi
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mitchell Hayes
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - James C. Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Barlow
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Paul J. Farrell
- Molecular Virology, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rosemary Rochford
- Department of Immunology & Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, United States of America
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado United States of America
| | - Robert F. Kalejta
- Department of Molecular Virology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology in Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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15
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Dugan JP, Haverkos BM, Villagomez L, Martin LK, Lustberg M, Patton J, Martin M, Huang Y, Nuovo G, Yan F, Cavaliere R, Fingeroth J, Kenney SC, Ambinder RF, Lozanski G, Porcu P, Caligiuri MA, Baiocchi RA. Complete and Durable Responses in Primary Central Nervous System Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder with Zidovudine, Ganciclovir, Rituximab, and Dexamethasone. Clin Cancer Res 2018; 24:3273-3281. [PMID: 29632007 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-17-2685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Revised: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Purpose: Primary central nervous system posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PCNS-PTLD) is a complication of solid organ transplantation with a poor prognosis and typically associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). We hypothesized EBV lytic-phase protein expression would allow successful treatment with antiviral therapy.Patients and Methods: Thirteen patients were treated with zidovudine (AZT), ganciclovir (GCV), dexamethasone, and rituximab in EBV+ PCNS-PTLD. Twice-daily, intravenous AZT 1,500 mg, GCV 5 mg/kg, and dexamethasone 10 mg were given for 14 days. Weekly rituximab 375 mg/m2 was delivered for the first 4 weeks. Twice-daily valganciclovir 450 mg and AZT 300 mg started day 15. Lytic and latent protein expression was assessed using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Immunoblot assay assessed lytic gene activation. Cells transfected with lytic kinase vectors were assessed for sensitivity to our therapy using MTS tetrazolium and flow cytometry.Results: The median time to response was 2 months. Median therapy duration was 26.5 months. Median follow-up was 52 months. The estimated 2-year overall survival (OS) was 76.9% (95% CI, 44.2%-91.9%). Overall response rate (ORR) was 92% (95% CI, 64%-100%). BXLF1/vTK and BGLF4 expression was found in the seven tumor biopsies evaluated. Lytic gene expression was induced in vitro using the four-drug regimen. Transfection with viral kinase cDNA increased cellular sensitivity to antiviral therapy.Conclusions: EBV+ PCNS-PTLD expressed lytic kinases and therapy with AZT, GCV, rituximab and dexamethasone provided durable responses. Induction of the lytic protein expression and increased cellular sensitivity to antiviral therapy after transfection with viral kinase cDNA provides a mechanistic rationale for our approach. Clin Cancer Res; 24(14); 3273-81. ©2018 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Dugan
- Division of Hematology, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado
| | | | - Lynda Villagomez
- Department of Internal Medicine, Mt Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York
| | - Ludmila K Martin
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Mark Lustberg
- Division of Infectious Disease, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - John Patton
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Marisa Martin
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Ying Huang
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Gerard Nuovo
- Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Fengting Yan
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Robert Cavaliere
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | | | - Shannon C Kenney
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | | | - Gerard Lozanski
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Pierluigi Porcu
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Michael A Caligiuri
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
| | - Robert A Baiocchi
- Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
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16
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Bilger A, Plowshay J, Ma S, Nawandar D, Barlow EA, Romero-Masters JC, Bristol JA, Li Z, Tsai MH, Delecluse HJ, Kenney SC. Leflunomide/teriflunomide inhibit Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)- induced lymphoproliferative disease and lytic viral replication. Oncotarget 2018; 8:44266-44280. [PMID: 28574826 PMCID: PMC5546479 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.17863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
EBV infection causes mononucleosis and is associated with specific subsets of B cell lymphomas. Immunosuppressed patients such as organ transplant recipients are particularly susceptible to EBV-induced lymphoproliferative disease (LPD), which can be fatal. Leflunomide (a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis) and its active metabolite teriflunomide (used to treat multiple sclerosis) inhibit de novo pyrimidine synthesis by targeting the cellular dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, thereby decreasing T cell proliferation. Leflunomide also inhibits the replication of cytomegalovirus and BK virus via both "on target" and "off target" mechanisms and is increasingly used to treat these viruses in organ transplant recipients. However, whether leflunomide/teriflunomide block EBV replication or inhibit EBV-mediated B cell transformation is currently unknown. We show that teriflunomide inhibits cellular proliferation, and promotes apoptosis, in EBV-transformed B cells in vitro at a clinically relevant dose. In addition, teriflunomide prevents the development of EBV-induced lymphomas in both a humanized mouse model and a xenograft model. Furthermore, teriflunomide inhibits lytic EBV infection in vitro both by preventing the initial steps of lytic viral reactivation, and by blocking lytic viral DNA replication. Leflunomide/teriflunomide might therefore be clinically useful for preventing EBV-induced LPD in patients who have high EBV loads yet require continued immunosuppression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bilger
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Julie Plowshay
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.,Rocky Mountain Infectious Disease Specialists, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Shidong Ma
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.,Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Dhananjay Nawandar
- Department Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.,Department of Cancer Biology and Immunology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Elizabeth A Barlow
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - James C Romero-Masters
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jillian A Bristol
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Zhe Li
- Joint DKFZ Inserm Unit U1074, German Cancer Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ming-Han Tsai
- Joint DKFZ Inserm Unit U1074, German Cancer Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Shannon C Kenney
- Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.,Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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17
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Zumwalde NA, Sharma A, Xu X, Ma S, Schneider CL, Romero-Masters JC, Hudson AW, Gendron-Fitzpatrick A, Kenney SC, Gumperz JE. Adoptively transferred Vγ9Vδ2 T cells show potent antitumor effects in a preclinical B cell lymphomagenesis model. JCI Insight 2017; 2:93179. [PMID: 28679955 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.93179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
A central issue for adoptive cellular immunotherapy is overcoming immunosuppressive signals to achieve tumor clearance. While γδ T cells are known to be potent cytolytic effectors that can kill a variety of cancers, it is not clear whether they are inhibited by suppressive ligands expressed in tumor microenvironments. Here, we have used a powerful preclinical model where EBV infection drives the de novo generation of human B cell lymphomas in vivo, and autologous T lymphocytes are held in check by PD-1/CTLA-4-mediated inhibition. We show that a single dose of adoptively transferred Vδ2+ T cells has potent antitumor effects, even in the absence of checkpoint blockade or activating compounds. Vδ2+ T cell immunotherapy given within the first 5 days of EBV infection almost completely prevented the outgrowth of tumors. Vδ2+ T cell immunotherapy given more than 3 weeks after infection (after neoplastic transformation is evident) resulted in a dramatic reduction in tumor burden. The immunotherapeutic Vδ2+ T cells maintained low cell surface expression of PD-1 in vivo, and their recruitment to tumors was followed by a decrease in B cells expressing PD-L1 and PD-L2 inhibitory ligands. These results suggest that adoptively transferred PD-1lo Vδ2+ T cells circumvent the tumor checkpoint environment in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Xuequn Xu
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
| | - Shidong Ma
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Christine L Schneider
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - James C Romero-Masters
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Amy W Hudson
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Annette Gendron-Fitzpatrick
- Comparative Pathology Laboratory, Research Animal Resources Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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18
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Kraus RJ, Yu X, Cordes BLA, Sathiamoorthi S, Iempridee T, Nawandar DM, Ma S, Romero-Masters JC, McChesney KG, Lin Z, Makielski KR, Lee DL, Lambert PF, Johannsen EC, Kenney SC, Mertz JE. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α plays roles in Epstein-Barr virus's natural life cycle and tumorigenesis by inducing lytic infection through direct binding to the immediate-early BZLF1 gene promoter. PLoS Pathog 2017; 13:e1006404. [PMID: 28617871 PMCID: PMC5487075 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
When confronted with poor oxygenation, cells adapt by activating survival signaling pathways, including the oxygen-sensitive transcriptional regulators called hypoxia-inducible factor alphas (HIF-αs). We report here that HIF-1α also regulates the life cycle of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Incubation of EBV-positive gastric carcinoma AGS-Akata and SNU-719 and Burkitt lymphoma Sal and KemIII cell lines with a prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, L-mimosine or deferoxamine, or the NEDDylation inhibitor MLN4924 promoted rapid and sustained accumulation of both HIF-1α and lytic EBV antigens. ShRNA knockdown of HIF-1α significantly reduced deferoxamine-mediated lytic reactivation. HIF-1α directly bound the promoter of the EBV primary latent-lytic switch BZLF1 gene, Zp, activating transcription via a consensus hypoxia-response element (HRE) located at nt -83 through -76 relative to the transcription initiation site. HIF-1α did not activate transcription from the other EBV immediate-early gene, BRLF1. Importantly, expression of HIF-1α induced EBV lytic-gene expression in cells harboring wild-type EBV, but not in cells infected with variants containing base-pair substitution mutations within this HRE. Human oral keratinocyte (NOK) and gingival epithelial (hGET) cells induced to differentiate by incubation with either methyl cellulose or growth in organotypic culture accumulated both HIF-1α and Blimp-1α, another cellular factor implicated in lytic reactivation. HIF-1α activity also accumulated along with Blimp-1α during B-cell differentiation into plasma cells. Furthermore, most BZLF1-expressing cells observed in lymphomas induced by EBV in NSG mice with a humanized immune system were located distal to blood vessels in hypoxic regions of the tumors. Thus, we conclude that HIF-1α plays central roles in both EBV’s natural life cycle and EBV-associated tumorigenesis. We propose that drugs that induce HIF-1α protein accumulation are good candidates for development of a lytic-induction therapy for treating some EBV-associated malignancies. Most adults throughout the world are infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a human herpesvirus frequently associated in a latent state with some cancers of epithelial and B-cell origin such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma and Burkitt lymphoma, respectively. To develop an oncolytic therapy for treating patients with EBV-associated cancers, we need a method to efficiently induce synthesis of lytic EBV proteins. The EBV protein encoded by its immediate-early BZLF1 gene usually mediates the switch into lytic viral infection. We show here that HIF-1α, a cellular transcription factor that accumulates in cells when deprived of normal levels of oxygen, can induce lytic EBV infection. HIF-1α mediates this switch by directly binding to a specific sequence located within the BZLF1 gene promoter, activating its expression. Importantly, we also show that deferoxamine, an FDA-approved drug that inhibits degradation of HIF-1α, can induce synthesis of lytic EBV proteins in some EBV-positive epithelial and lymphocytic cell lines. These findings indicate that HIF-1α-stabilizing drugs, administered in combination with nucleoside analogues such as ganciclovir, may be helpful as part of a lytic-induction therapy for treating some patients with EBV-positive malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J. Kraus
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Xianming Yu
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Blue-leaf A. Cordes
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Saraniya Sathiamoorthi
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Tawin Iempridee
- National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Dhananjay M. Nawandar
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shidong Ma
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - James C. Romero-Masters
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Kyle G. McChesney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Zhen Lin
- Department of Pathology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center and Tulane Cancer Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Kathleen R. Makielski
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Denis L. Lee
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Paul F. Lambert
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Janet E. Mertz
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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19
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Jones RJ, Iempridee T, Wang X, Lee HC, Mertz JE, Kenney SC, Lin HC, Baladandayuthapani V, Dawson CW, Shah JJ, Weber DM, Orlowski RZ. Lenalidomide, Thalidomide, and Pomalidomide Reactivate the Epstein-Barr Virus Lytic Cycle through Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Signaling and Ikaros Expression. Clin Cancer Res 2016; 22:4901-4912. [PMID: 27297582 PMCID: PMC5050094 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-15-2242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 05/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Lenalidomide, thalidomide, and pomalidomide (LTP) are immunomodulatory agents approved for use in multiple myeloma, but in some settings, especially with alkylating agents, an increase in Hodgkin lymphoma and other secondary primary malignancies (SPM) has been noted. Some of these malignancies have been linked to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), raising the possibility that immunomodulatory drugs disrupt latent EBV infection. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We studied the ability of LTP to reactivate latently infected EBV-positive cell lines in vitro and in vivo, and evaluated the EBV viral load in archived serum samples from patients who received a lenalidomide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (LTD) combination. RESULTS Treatment of EBV-infected B-cell lines with LTP at physiologically relevant concentrations induced the immediate early gene BZLF1, the early gene BMRF1, and the late proteins VCA and BCFR1. This occurred in the potency order pomalidomide > lenalidomide > thalidomide, and the nucleoside analogue ganciclovir enhanced the cytotoxic effects of lenalidomide and pomalidomide in Burkitt lymphoma cells in vitro and in vivo EBV reactivation was related to PI3K stimulation and Ikaros suppression, and blocked by the PI3Kδ inhibitor idelalisib. Combinations of lenalidomide with dexamethasone or rituximab increased EBV reactivation compared with lenalidomide alone and, importantly, lenalidomide with melphalan produced even greater reactivation. CONCLUSIONS We conclude LTP may reactivate EBV-positive resting memory B cells thereby enhancing EBV lytic cycle and host immune suppression. Clin Cancer Res; 22(19); 4901-12. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Jones
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
| | - Tawin Iempridee
- National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Xiaobin Wang
- Urology Department, ShengJing Hospital, China Medical University, ShenYang, China
| | - Hans C Lee
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Janet E Mertz
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin
| | - Heather C Lin
- Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | | | - Christopher W Dawson
- Birmingham Cancer Research UK Cancer Centre, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Jatin J Shah
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Donna M Weber
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Robert Z Orlowski
- Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
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20
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Makielski KR, Lee D, Lorenz LD, Nawandar DM, Chiu YF, Kenney SC, Lambert PF. Human papillomavirus promotes Epstein-Barr virus maintenance and lytic reactivation in immortalized oral keratinocytes. Virology 2016; 495:52-62. [PMID: 27179345 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2016.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2016] [Revised: 05/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus and human papillomaviruses are human tumor viruses that infect and replicate in upper aerodigestive tract epithelia and cause head and neck cancers. The productive phases of both viruses are tied to stratified epithelia highlighting the possibility that these viruses may affect each other's life cycles. Our lab has established an in vitro model system to test the effects of EBV and HPV co-infection in stratified squamous oral epithelial cells. Our results indicate that HPV increases maintenance of the EBV genome in the co-infected cells and promotes lytic reactivation of EBV in upper layers of stratified epithelium. Expression of the HPV oncogenes E6 and E7 were found to be necessary and sufficient to account for HPV-mediated lytic reactivation of EBV. Our findings indicate that HPV increases the capacity of epithelial cells to support the EBV life cycle, which could in turn increase EBV-mediated pathogenesis in the oral cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen R Makielski
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Denis Lee
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Laurel D Lorenz
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Dhananjay M Nawandar
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Ya-Fang Chiu
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States; Morgridge Institute for Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 330 N. Orchard Street, Madison, WI 53715, United States
| | - Shannon C Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States
| | - Paul F Lambert
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1111 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705, United States.
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21
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Nawandar DM, Wang A, Makielski K, Lee D, Ma S, Barlow E, Reusch J, Jiang R, Wille CK, Greenspan D, Greenspan JS, Mertz JE, Hutt-Fletcher L, Johannsen EC, Lambert PF, Kenney SC. Differentiation-Dependent KLF4 Expression Promotes Lytic Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Epithelial Cells. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1005195. [PMID: 26431332 PMCID: PMC4592227 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus associated with B-cell and epithelial cell malignancies. EBV lytically infects normal differentiated oral epithelial cells, where it causes a tongue lesion known as oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) in immunosuppressed patients. However, the cellular mechanism(s) that enable EBV to establish exclusively lytic infection in normal differentiated oral epithelial cells are not currently understood. Here we show that a cellular transcription factor known to promote epithelial cell differentiation, KLF4, induces differentiation-dependent lytic EBV infection by binding to and activating the two EBV immediate-early gene (BZLF1 and BRLF1) promoters. We demonstrate that latently EBV-infected, telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocyte (NOKs) cells undergo lytic viral reactivation confined to the more differentiated cell layers in organotypic raft culture. Furthermore, we show that endogenous KLF4 expression is required for efficient lytic viral reactivation in response to phorbol ester and sodium butyrate treatment in several different EBV-infected epithelial cell lines, and that the combination of KLF4 and another differentiation-dependent cellular transcription factor, BLIMP1, is highly synergistic for inducing lytic EBV infection. We confirm that both KLF4 and BLIMP1 are expressed in differentiated, but not undifferentiated, epithelial cells in normal tongue tissue, and show that KLF4 and BLIMP1 are both expressed in a patient-derived OHL lesion. In contrast, KLF4 protein is not detectably expressed in B cells, where EBV normally enters latent infection, although KLF4 over-expression is sufficient to induce lytic EBV reactivation in Burkitt lymphoma cells. Thus, KLF4, together with BLIMP1, plays a critical role in mediating lytic EBV reactivation in epithelial cells. Lytic EBV infection of differentiated oral epithelial cells results in the release of infectious viral particles and is required for efficient transmission of EBV from host to host. Lytic infection also causes a tongue lesion known as oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). However, surprisingly little is known in regard to how EBV gene expression is regulated in epithelial cells. Using a stably EBV- infected, telomerase-immortalized normal oral keratinocyte cell line, we show here that undifferentiated basal epithelial cells support latent EBV infection, while differentiation of epithelial cells promotes lytic reactivation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the KLF4 cellular transcription factor, which is required for normal epithelial cell differentiation and is expressed in differentiated, but not undifferentiated, normal epithelial cells, induces lytic EBV reactivation by activating transcription from the two EBV immediate-early gene promoters. We also show that the combination of KLF4 and another differentiation-dependent cellular transcription factor, BLIMP1, synergistically activates lytic gene expression in epithelial cells. We confirm that KLF4 and BLIMP1 expression in normal tongue epithelium is confined to differentiated cells, and that KLF4 and BLIMP1 are expressed in a patient-derived OHL tongue lesion. These results suggest that differentiation-dependent expression of KLF4 and BLIMP1 in epithelial cells promotes lytic EBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhananjay M. Nawandar
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Anqi Wang
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Kathleen Makielski
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Denis Lee
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shidong Ma
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Barlow
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Jessica Reusch
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Ru Jiang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Molecular and Tumor Virology and Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Coral K. Wille
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Medical Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Deborah Greenspan
- Department of Orofacial Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - John S. Greenspan
- Department of Orofacial Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Janet E. Mertz
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Lindsey Hutt-Fletcher
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Molecular and Tumor Virology and Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Eric C. Johannsen
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Paul F. Lambert
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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22
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Ma SD, Xu X, Plowshay J, Ranheim EA, Burlingham WJ, Jensen JL, Asimakopoulos F, Tang W, Gulley ML, Cesarman E, Gumperz JE, Kenney SC. LMP1-deficient Epstein-Barr virus mutant requires T cells for lymphomagenesis. J Clin Invest 2014; 125:304-15. [PMID: 25485679 DOI: 10.1172/jci76357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2014] [Accepted: 10/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection transforms B cells in vitro and is associated with human B cell lymphomas. The major EBV oncoprotein, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), mimics constitutively active CD40 and is essential for outgrowth of EBV-transformed B cells in vitro; however, EBV-positive diffuse large B cell lymphomas and Burkitt lymphomas often express little or no LMP1. Thus, EBV may contribute to the development and maintenance of human lymphomas even in the absence of LMP1. Here, we found that i.p. injection of human cord blood mononuclear cells infected with a LMP1-deficient EBV into immunodeficient mice induces B cell lymphomas. In this model, lymphoma development required the presence of CD4+ T cells in cord blood and was inhibited by CD40-blocking Abs. In contrast, LMP1-deficient EBV established persistent latency but did not induce lymphomas when directly injected into mice engrafted with human fetal CD34+ cells and human thymus. WT EBV induced lymphomas in both mouse models and did not require coinjected T cells in the cord blood model. Together, these results demonstrate that LMP1 is not essential for EBV-induced lymphomas in vivo and suggest that T cells supply signals that substitute for LMP1 in EBV-positive B cell lymphomagenesis.
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Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection contributes to the development of several different types of human malignancy, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. As a herpesvirus, EBV can establish latent or lytic infection in cells. EBV-positive tumors are composed almost exclusively of cells with latent EBV infection. Strategies for inducing the lytic form of EBV infection in tumor cells are being investigated as a potential therapy for EBV-positive tumors. In this article, we review how cellular and viral proteins regulate the latent-lytic EBV switch in infected B cells and epithelial cells, and discuss how harnessing lytic viral reactivation might be used therapeutically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon C Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, 1400 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1599, USA; Department of Oncology, 1400 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1599, USA; Department of Medicine, 1400 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1599, USA.
| | - Janet E Mertz
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, 1400 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1599, USA; Department of Oncology, 1400 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53706-1599, USA
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24
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Lockridge JL, Zhou Y, Becker YA, Ma S, Kenney SC, Hematti P, Capitini CM, Burlingham WJ, Gendron-Fitzpatrick A, Gumperz JE. Mice engrafted with human fetal thymic tissue and hematopoietic stem cells develop pathology resembling chronic graft-versus-host disease. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2013; 19:1310-22. [PMID: 23806772 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2013.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a significant roadblock to long-term hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation success. Effective treatments for cGVHD have been difficult to develop, in part because of a paucity of animal models that recapitulate the multiorgan pathologies observed in clinical cGVHD. Here we present an analysis of the pathology that occurs in immunodeficient mice engrafted with human fetal HSCs and implanted with fragments of human fetal thymus and liver. Starting at time points generally later than 100 days post-transplantation, the mice developed signs of illness, including multiorgan cellular infiltrates containing human T cells, B cells, and macrophages; fibrosis in sites such as lungs and liver; and thickened skin with alopecia. Experimental manipulations that delayed or reduced the efficiency of the HSC engraftment did not affect the timing or progression of disease manifestations, suggesting that pathology in this model is driven more by factors associated with the engrafted human thymic organoid. Disease progression was typically accompanied by extensive fibrosis and degradation of the thymic organoid, and there was an inverse correlation of disease severity with the frequency of FoxP3(+) thymocytes. Hence, the human thymic tissue may contribute T cells with pathogenic potential, but the generation of regulatory T cells in the thymic organoid may help to control these cells before pathology resembling cGVHD eventually develops. This model thus provides a new system to investigate disease pathophysiology relating to human thymic events and to evaluate treatment strategies to combat multiorgan fibrotic pathology produced by human immune cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer L Lockridge
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
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25
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Hagemeier SR, Barlow EA, Meng Q, Kenney SC. The cellular ataxia telangiectasia-mutated kinase promotes epstein-barr virus lytic reactivation in response to multiple different types of lytic reactivation-inducing stimuli. J Virol 2012; 86:13360-70. [PMID: 23015717 PMCID: PMC3503132 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01850-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2012] [Accepted: 09/20/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent-to-lytic switch is mediated by the viral proteins BZLF1 (Z), BRLF1 (R), and BRRF1 (Na). Since we previously showed that DNA-damaging agents (including chemotherapy and irradiation) can induce EBV lytic reactivation and recently demonstrated that wild-type p53 contributes to lytic reactivation, we investigated the role of the ATM kinase during EBV reactivation. ATM phosphorylates and activates p53, as well as numerous other substrates involved in the cellular DNA damage response. Using an ATM inhibitor (KU55933), we found that ATM activity is required for efficient induction of EBV lytic gene expression by a variety of different stimuli, including a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) cytokine, a demethylating agent (5-azacytidine), B cell receptor engagement with anti-IgG antibody, hydrogen peroxide, and the proteosome inhibitor bortezomib. In EBV-infected AGS (gastric) cells, knockdown of ATM, or p53, expression inhibits EBV reactivation. Conversely, treatment of these cells with nutlin-3 (which activates p53 and ATM) robustly induces lytic reactivation in a p53- and ATM-dependent manner. The ability of the EBV R and Na proteins to induce lytic reactivation in EBV-infected AGS cells is ATM dependent. However, overexpression of Z induces lytic gene expression in the presence or absence of ATM activity. Our results suggest that ATM enhances Z promoter activity in the context of the intact EBV genome and that p53 contributes to the ATM effect. Nevertheless, since we found that ATM inhibitors also reduce lytic reactivation in Burkitt lymphoma cells that have no p53, additional ATM substrates must also contribute to the ATM effect.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Qiao Meng
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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26
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Bhatia N, Xiao TZ, Rosenthal KA, Siddiqui IA, Thiyagarajan S, Smart B, Meng Q, Zuleger CL, Mukhtar H, Kenney SC, Albertini MR, Jack Longley B. MAGE-C2 promotes growth and tumorigenicity of melanoma cells, phosphorylation of KAP1, and DNA damage repair. J Invest Dermatol 2012; 133:759-767. [PMID: 23096706 DOI: 10.1038/jid.2012.355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Melanoma-associated antigen-encoding (MAGE) genes are expressed in melanoma and other cancers but not in normal somatic cells. MAGE expression is associated with aggressive tumor growth, poor clinical outcome, and resistance to chemotherapy, but the mechanisms have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we show that downregulation of MAGE-C2 in A375 melanoma cells and low-passage cultures from human metastatic melanomas (MRA cells) results in increased apoptosis and decreased growth of tumor xenografts in athymic nude mice. Previously, we showed that MAGE-C2 binds KAP1, a scaffolding protein that regulates DNA repair. Phosphorylation of KAP1-Serine 824 (Ser824) by ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) kinase is necessary for repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs); now we show that MAGE-C2 knockdown reduces, whereas MAGE-C2 overexpression increases, ATM kinase-dependent phosphorylation of KAP1-Ser824. We demonstrate that MAGE-C2 increases co-precipitation of KAP1 with ATM and that binding of MAGE-C2 to KAP1 is necessary for increased KAP1-Ser824 phosphorylation. Furthermore, ectopic expression of MAGE-C2 enhances repair of I-SceI endonuclease-induced DSBs in U-2OS cells. As phosphorylation of KAP1-Ser824 facilitates relaxation of heterochromatin, which is necessary for DNA repair and cellular proliferation, our results suggest that MAGE-C2 can promote tumor growth by phosphorylation of KAP1-Ser824 and by enhancement of DNA damage repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neehar Bhatia
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
| | - Tony Z Xiao
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | | | - Imtiaz A Siddiqui
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | | | - Brendan Smart
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Qiao Meng
- McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Cindy L Zuleger
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Hasan Mukhtar
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | | | - Mark R Albertini
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Medical Service, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - B Jack Longley
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
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Ryan JL, Shen YJ, Morgan DR, Thorne LB, Kenney SC, Dominguez RL, Gulley ML. Epstein-Barr virus infection is common in inflamed gastrointestinal mucosa. Dig Dis Sci 2012; 57:1887-98. [PMID: 22410851 PMCID: PMC3535492 DOI: 10.1007/s10620-012-2116-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2011] [Accepted: 02/22/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is present in the malignant epithelial cells of 10% of all gastric adenocarcinomas; however, localization of the virus in normal gastrointestinal mucosa is largely unexplored. In the present study, we measured EBV DNA and localized viral gene products in gastritis specimens (n = 89), normal gastric and colonic mucosa (n = 14), Crohn's disease (n = 9), and ulcerative colitis (n = 11) tissues. METHODS A battery of sensitive and specific quantitative polymerase chain reactions targeted six disparate regions of the EBV genome: BamH1 W, EBNA1, LMP1, LMP2, BZLF1, and EBER1. EBV infection was localized by EBV-encoded RNA (EBER) in situ hybridization and by immunohistochemical stains for viral latent proteins LMP1 and LMP2 and for viral lytic proteins BMRF1 and BZLF1. B lymphocytes were identified using CD20 immunostains. RESULTS EBV DNA was essentially undetectable in normal gastric mucosa but was present in 46% of gastritis lesions, 44% of normal colonic mucosa, 55% of Crohn's disease, and 64% of ulcerative colitis samples. Levels of EBV DNA exceeded what would be expected based on the numbers of B lymphocytes in inflamed tissues, suggesting that EBV is preferentially localized to inflammatory gastrointestinal lesions. Histochemical staining revealed EBER expression in lymphoid cells of some PCR-positive lesions. The viral lytic viral proteins, BMRF1 and BZLF1, were expressed in lymphoid cells of two ulcerative colitis tissues, both of which had relatively high viral loads by quantitative PCR. CONCLUSION EBV-infected lymphocytes are frequently present in inflamed gastric and colonic mucosa. Active viral replication in some lesions raises the possibility of virus-related perpetuation of gastrointestinal inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L. Ryan
- Department of Dermatology & Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - You-Jun Shen
- Virginia Beach General Hospital, Virginia Beach, VA
| | - Douglas R. Morgan
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Leigh B. Thorne
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Departments of Medicine and Oncology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
| | - Ricardo L. Dominguez
- Department of Gastroenterology, Western Regional Hospital, Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras
| | - Margaret L. Gulley
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
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28
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Robinson AR, Kwek SS, Kenney SC. The B-cell specific transcription factor, Oct-2, promotes Epstein-Barr virus latency by inhibiting the viral immediate-early protein, BZLF1. PLoS Pathog 2012; 8:e1002516. [PMID: 22346751 PMCID: PMC3276558 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2011] [Accepted: 12/16/2011] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent-lytic switch is mediated by the BZLF1 immediate-early protein. EBV is normally latent in memory B cells, but cellular factors which promote viral latency specifically in B cells have not been identified. In this report, we demonstrate that the B-cell specific transcription factor, Oct-2, inhibits the function of the viral immediate-early protein, BZLF1, and prevents lytic viral reactivation. Co-transfected Oct-2 reduces the ability of BZLF1 to activate lytic gene expression in two different latently infected nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines. Furthermore, Oct-2 inhibits BZLF1 activation of lytic EBV promoters in reporter gene assays, and attenuates BZLF1 binding to lytic viral promoters in vivo. Oct-2 interacts directly with BZLF1, and this interaction requires the DNA-binding/dimerization domain of BZLF1 and the POU domain of Oct-2. An Oct-2 mutant (Δ262–302) deficient for interaction with BZLF1 is unable to inhibit BZLF1-mediated lytic reactivation. However, an Oct-2 mutant defective for DNA-binding (Q221A) retains the ability to inhibit BZLF1 transcriptional effects and DNA-binding. Importantly, shRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous Oct-2 expression in several EBV-positive Burkitt lymphoma and lymphoblastoid cell lines increases the level of lytic EBV gene expression, while decreasing EBNA1 expression. Moreover, treatments which induce EBV lytic reactivation, such as anti-IgG cross-linking and chemical inducers, also decrease the level of Oct-2 protein expression at the transcriptional level. We conclude that Oct-2 potentiates establishment of EBV latency in B cells. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus associated with B-cell malignancies. EBV infection of cells can result in either lytic replication or latency. Memory B cells are the primary site of EBV latency within the human host, while oropharyngeal epithelial cells support the lytic form of infection. However, the cellular mechanism(s) that enable EBV to establish viral latency in a B-cell specific manner are not currently understood. In this report, we show that the B-cell specific cellular transcription factor, Oct-2, promotes viral latency by inhibiting the lytic form of infection. We find that Oct-2 interacts directly with the EBV immediate-early protein, BZLF1, and abrogates its ability to activate lytic viral gene transcription through protein-protein interactions off the DNA. Furthermore, knockdown of endogenous Oct-2 expression in several latently-infected Burkitt lymphoma B-cell lines increases EBV lytic protein expression. In addition, we show that certain stimuli which can prompt lytic EBV reactivation in B cells also decrease expression of endogenous Oct-2. Our results suggest that the cellular transcription factor, Oct-2, promotes EBV latency in a B-cell dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R. Robinson
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research , University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Swee Sen Kwek
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research , University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research , University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Hegde S, Lockridge JL, Becker YA, Ma S, Kenney SC, Gumperz JE. Human NKT cells direct the differentiation of myeloid APCs that regulate T cell responses via expression of programmed cell death ligands. J Autoimmun 2011; 37:28-38. [PMID: 21486688 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2011.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2011] [Revised: 02/23/2011] [Accepted: 03/07/2011] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
NKT cells are innate lymphocytes that can recognize self or foreign lipids presented by CD1d molecules. NKT cells have been shown to inhibit the development of autoimmunity in murine model systems, however, the pathways by which they foster immune tolerance remain poorly understood. Here we show that autoreactive human NKT cells stimulate monocytes to differentiate into myeloid APCs that have a regulatory phenotype characterized by poor conjugate formation with T cells. The NKT cell instructed myeloid APCs show elevated expression of the inhibitory ligand PD-L2, and blocking PD-L1 and PD-L2 during interactions of the APCs with T cells results in improved cluster formation and significantly increased T cell proliferative responses. The elevated expression of PD-L molecules on NKT-instructed APCs appears to result from exposure to extracellular ATP that is produced during NKT-monocyte interactions, and blocking purinergic signaling during monocyte differentiation results in APCs that form clusters with T cells and stimulate their proliferation. Finally, we show that human monocytes and NKT cells that are injected into immunodeficient mice co-localize together in spleen and liver, and after 3 days in vivo in the presence of NKT cells a fraction of the myeloid cells have upregulated markers associated with differentiation into professional APCs. These results suggest that autoreactive human NKT cells may promote tolerance by inducing the differentiation of regulatory myeloid APCs that limit T cell proliferation through expression of PD-L molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subramanya Hegde
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 53706, USA
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30
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Ryan JL, Jones RJ, Kenney SC, Rivenbark AG, Tang W, Knight ER, Coleman WB, Gulley ML. Epstein-Barr virus-specific methylation of human genes in gastric cancer cells. Infect Agent Cancer 2010; 5:27. [PMID: 21194482 PMCID: PMC3023757 DOI: 10.1186/1750-9378-5-27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2010] [Accepted: 12/31/2010] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is found in 10% of all gastric adenocarcinomas but its role in tumor development and maintenance remains unclear. The objective of this study was to examine EBV-mediated dysregulation of cellular factors implicated in gastric carcinogenesis. Methods Gene expression patterns were examined in EBV-negative and EBV-positive AGS gastric epithelial cells using a low density microarray, reverse transcription PCR, histochemical stains, and methylation-specific DNA sequencing. Expression of PTGS2 (COX2) was measured in AGS cells and in primary gastric adenocarcinoma tissues. Results In array studies, nearly half of the 96 human genes tested, representing 15 different cancer-related signal transduction pathways, were dysregulated after EBV infection. Reverse transcription PCR confirmed significant impact on factors having diverse functions such as cell cycle regulation (IGFBP3, CDKN2A, CCND1, HSP70, ID2, ID4), DNA repair (BRCA1, TFF1), cell adhesion (ICAM1), inflammation (COX2), and angiogenesis (HIF1A). Demethylation using 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine reversed the EBV-mediated dysregulation for all 11 genes listed here. For some promoter sequences, CpG island methylation and demethylation occurred in an EBV-specific pattern as shown by bisulfite DNA sequencing. Immunohistochemistry was less sensitive than was western blot for detecting downregulation of COX2 upon EBV infection. Virus-related dysregulation of COX2 levels in vitro was not recapitulated in vivo among naturally infected gastric cancer tissues. Conclusions EBV alters human gene expression in ways that could contribute to the unique pathobiology of virus-associated cancer. Furthermore, the frequency and reversability of methylation-related transcriptional alterations suggest that demethylating agents have therapeutic potential for managing EBV-related carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L Ryan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525, USA.
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31
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoping Sun
- Department of Oncology, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
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32
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Tang W, Harmon P, Gulley ML, Mwansambo C, Kazembe PN, Martinson F, Wokocha C, Kenney SC, Hoffman I, Sigel C, Maygarden S, Hoffman M, Shores C. Viral response to chemotherapy in endemic burkitt lymphoma. Clin Cancer Res 2010; 16:2055-64. [PMID: 20233888 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-09-2424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Some EBV-directed therapies are predicted to be effective only when lytic viral replication occurs. We studied whether cyclophosphamide chemotherapy induces EBV to switch from latent to lytic phases of infection in a series of EBV-associated Burkitt lymphomas. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Children with first presentation of an expanding, solid maxillary or mandibular mass consistent with Burkitt lymphoma underwent fine-needle aspiration just prior to the initiation of cyclophosphamide therapy and again 1 to 5 days later. Aspirated cells were examined for latent and lytic EBV infection using in situ hybridization to EBV-encoded RNA (EBER), immunohistochemical analysis of the lytic EBV proteins BZLF1 and BMRF1, reverse transcription PCR targeting BZLF1 transcripts, and EBV viral load measurement by quantitative PCR. RESULTS Among 21 lymphomas expressing EBER prior to chemotherapy, 9 of 10 still expressed EBER on day 1 after therapy whereas only 2 of 11 (18%) specimens still expressed EBER at days 3 to 5, implying that chemotherapy was fairly effective at eliminating latently infected cells. Neither of the lytic products, BZLF1 or BMRF1, were significantly upregulated at the posttherapy time points examined. However, EBV genomic copy number increased in 5 of 10 samples 1 day after treatment began, suggesting that viral replication occurs within the first 24 hours. CONCLUSION Cyclophosphamide may induce the lytic phase of EBV infection and is fairly effective in diminishing EBER-expressing tumor cells within 5 days. These findings provide the rationale for a trial testing synergistic tumor cell killing using cyclophosphamide with a drug like ganciclovir targeting lytically infected cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weihua Tang
- Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7525, USA
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33
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Bristol JA, Morrison TE, Kenney SC. CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins alpha and beta regulate the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 gene promoter. Mol Immunol 2009; 46:2706-13. [PMID: 19523687 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2009.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2009] [Accepted: 05/18/2009] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) transcription factors play essential roles in regulating an array of cellular processes, including differentiation, energy metabolism, and inflammation. In this report we demonstrate that both C/EBPalpha and C/EBPbeta activate the promoter driving transcription of the tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1). TNFR1 is the major receptor for tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a critical cytokine mediator of the inflammatory response. Although the TNFR1 protein has been shown to be regulated through post-translational modifications, very little is known about the transcriptional regulation of the TNFR1 gene. Here we have identified a specific C/EBP binding site within the TNFR1 promoter, and shown that this site is required for both C/EBPalpha and C/EBPbeta activation of the promoter in reporter gene assays. Furthermore, we show that both C/EBPalpha and C/EBPbeta are bound to the TNFR1 promoter in cells using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Finally, we demonstrate that reducing the level of C/EBPalpha and C/EBPbeta expression in cells using siRNA technology leads to decreased expression of the TNFR1 protein. These results suggest that the C/EBPalpha and C/EBPbeta transcription factors enhance expression of the TNFR1 protein in cells. Given that TNF and C/EBPbeta are known to activate each other's expression, C/EBPbeta may greatly amplify the initial TNF signal through a positive auto-regulatory mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian A Bristol
- Departments of Oncology and Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 53706, United States
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Ryan JL, Jones RJ, Elmore SH, Kenney SC, Miller G, Schroeder JC, Gulley ML. Epstein-Barr virus WZhet DNA can induce lytic replication in epithelial cells in vitro, although WZhet is not detectable in many human tissues in vivo. Intervirology 2009; 52:8-16. [PMID: 19349713 DOI: 10.1159/000210833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2008] [Accepted: 02/18/2009] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE WZhet is a rearranged and partially deleted form of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome in which the BamH1W region becomes juxtaposed with and activates BZLF1, resulting in constitutive viral replication. We tested whether WZhet induces viral replication in epithelial cells, and we studied its prevalence in a wide range of lesional tissues arising in vivo. METHODS A quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting EBV WZhet DNA was developed to measure this recombinant form of the EBV genome. RESULTS WZhet DNA was undetectable in any of 324 plasma or paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patients with EBV-associated and EBV-negative disorders. These included specimens from patients with Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, post-transplant lymphoproliferation, nasopharyngeal or gastric adenocarcinoma, and infectious mononucleosis. However, WZhet DNA was detected in vitro in EBV-infected AGS gastric cancer cells. Additionally, transient transfection of infected AGS gastric cancer cells showed that viral replication could be induced by a WZhet plasmid. CONCLUSION This is the first evidence that WZhet induces the EBV lytic cycle in an epithelial cell line. Our negative findings in natural settings suggest that WZhet is a defective viral product that thrives in the absence of a host immune system but is rarely present in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie L Ryan
- Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y., USA
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Dickerson SJ, Xing Y, Robinson AR, Seaman WT, Gruffat H, Kenney SC. Methylation-dependent binding of the epstein-barr virus BZLF1 protein to viral promoters. PLoS Pathog 2009; 5:e1000356. [PMID: 19325883 PMCID: PMC2654727 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2008] [Accepted: 02/27/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The switch between latent and lytic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is mediated by the viral immediate-early (IE) protein, BZLF1 (Z). Z, a homologue of c-jun that binds to AP1-like motifs (ZREs), induces expression of the BRLF1 (R) and BRRF1 (Na) viral proteins, which cooperatively activate transcription of the Z promoter and thereby establish a positive autoregulatory loop. A unique feature of Z is its ability to preferentially bind to, and activate, the methylated form of the BRLF1 promoter (Rp). To date, however, Rp is the only EBV promoter known to be regulated in this unusual manner. We now demonstrate that the promoter driving transcription of the early BRRF1 gene (Nap) has two CpG-containing ZREs (ACGCTCA and TCGCCCG) that are only bound by Z in the methylated state. Both Nap ZREs are highly methylated in cells with latent EBV infection. Z efficiently activates the methylated, but not unmethylated, form of Nap in reporter gene assays, and both ZREs are required. Z serine residue 186, which was previously shown to be required for Z binding to methylated ZREs in Rp, but not for Z binding to the AP1 site, is required for Z binding to methylated Nap ZREs. The Z(S186A) mutant cannot activate methylated Nap in reporter gene assays and does not induce Na expression in cells with latent EBV infection. Molecular modeling studies of Z bound to the methylated Nap ZREs help to explain why methylation is required for Z binding, and the role of the Z Ser186 residue. Methylation-dependent Z binding to critical viral promoters may enhance lytic reactivation in latently infected cells, where the viral genome is heavily methylated. Conversely, since the incoming viral genome is initially unmethylated, methylation-dependent Z activation may also help the virus to establish latency following infection. In cells with long-term latent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, the majority of the EBV genome becomes highly methylated. Methylation of cytosines plays a critical role in inhibiting the expression of cellular genes. In contrast, our laboratory previously showed that the EBV protein, BZLF1 (Z), which mediates viral reactivation and replication, preferentially binds to, and activates, the methylated form of the viral BRLF1 promoter. To date, however, BRLF1 is the only EBV promoter known to be activated by Z in this unusual manner. Here, we show that another EBV promoter (Nap, driving transcription of the BRRF1 gene) likewise has two methylation-dependent Z binding sites, and that Z only activates the Nap efficiently in the methylated form. Molecular modeling studies suggest why methylation of the Nap enhances Z binding. Since the BRLF1 and BRRF1 genes encode essential viral transcription factors that work cooperatively with Z to induce the lytic form of viral infection, our results indicate that methylation of the EBV genome enhances Z-mediated disruption of viral latency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J. Dickerson
- McArdle Laboratory, Departments of Oncology and Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Yongna Xing
- McArdle Laboratory, Departments of Oncology and Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Amanda R. Robinson
- McArdle Laboratory, Departments of Oncology and Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - William T. Seaman
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Henri Gruffat
- Laboratoire de Virologie U758, ENS-Lyon, INSERM, Lyon, France
| | - Shannon C. Kenney
- McArdle Laboratory, Departments of Oncology and Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
EBV infection in tumor cells is generally restricted to the latent forms of viral infection. Switching the latent form of viral infection into the lytic form may induce tumor cell death. We have previously reported that certain chemotherapy agents can increase the amount of lytic viral gene expression in EBV-positive tumor cells. In this report, we have explored the potential utility of valproic acid (VPA), an anti-seizure drug that also has strong histone deacetylase inhibitory activity, for activating lytic viral gene expression in EBV-positive tumors. Although VPA treatment alone induced only a modest increase in the level of lytic viral gene expression, it strongly enhanced the ability of chemotherapeutic agents to induce lytic EBV gene expression in EBV-positive epithelial and lymphoid cells in vitro. Furthermore, VPA enhanced cell killing in vitro by chemotherapeutic agents in lymphoblastoid cells and gastric cells (AGS) containing wild-type EBV. In contrast, VPA did not enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy in lymphoblastoid cells containing a lytic-defective (BZLF1-knockout) form of EBV or in EBV-negative AGS cells. Finally, we found that the combination of VPA and chemotherapy was significantly more effective in inhibiting EBV-driven lymphoproliferative disease in severe combined immunodeficient mice than chemotherapy alone. These results suggest that VPA could potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapy for EBV-positive tumors in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Hai Feng
- Department of Medicine and Microbiology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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Jones RJ, Seaman WT, Feng WH, Barlow E, Dickerson S, Delecluse HJ, Kenney SC. Roles of lytic viral infection and IL-6 in early versus late passage lymphoblastoid cell lines and EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease. Int J Cancer 2007; 121:1274-81. [PMID: 17520680 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Lytically infected EBV-positive lymphoblastoid cells enhance the growth of early-passage, but not late-passage, EBV-immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) in SCID mice and have enhanced IL-6 secretion. Here, we have examined the importance of IL-6 for the growth of early-passage LCLs (EPL) in SCID mice, identified lytic EBV proteins that activate IL-6 production and compared viral and cellular differences between early versus late passage LCLs (LPL). IL-6 was required for efficient growth of EPL in SCID mice. The EBV immediate-early (IE) proteins, BRLF1 and BZLF1, each induced IL-6 secretion when transfected into 293 and BJAB cells. Interestingly, the combination of BZLF1 and the latent EBV protein, LMP-1, induced much more IL-6 expression in both 293 and BJAB cells than either protein alone. Both BZLF1 and BRLF1 also enhanced IL-10 production in 293 cells. In comparison to the EPL, LPL had much reduced expression of early lytic viral proteins and cellular IL-6. In contrast, expression of cellular IL-10 was similar in EPL versus LPL, while VEGF secretion was increased in late-passage LCLs. These results suggest that both BRLF1 and BZLF1 contribute to IL-6 secretion in lytically infected cells and that lytically infected cells may promote early lymphoproliferative disease in patients through enhanced IL-6 production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Jones
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Feng WH, Kraus RJ, Dickerson SJ, Lim HJ, Jones RJ, Yu X, Mertz JE, Kenney SC. ZEB1 and c-Jun levels contribute to the establishment of highly lytic Epstein-Barr virus infection in gastric AGS cells. J Virol 2007; 81:10113-22. [PMID: 17626078 PMCID: PMC2045427 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00692-07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The induction of lytic infection has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for treating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive malignancies. To succeed, efficient methods are needed for activating the EBV immediate-early (IE) promoters, Zp and Rp. Here we compared factors which regulate Zp and Rp in AGS gastric carcinoma cells that support a remarkably high level of persistently lytic EBV infection with HeLa cervical cells that permit only tightly latent infection. We found that the level of Zp activity assayed by transient transfection assays with reporter plasmids was high in AGS cells but low in HeLa cells. The level of Rp activity was low in both cell types. Mutational analysis indicated that sequences within Zp located between -70 and +27 relative to the transcription initiation site were sufficient to confer a high level of Zp activity in AGS cells. The Zp CRE motif was necessary for this constitutive activity, while the ZIA and ZIB MEF2D motifs were not. Consistent with these findings, immunoblot analysis indicated that phosphorylated c-Jun, which activates Zp through the CRE motif, was expressed at a much higher level in EBV-infected AGS cells than in EBV-infected HeLa cells. In contrast, ZEB1, which represses Zp via the ZV motif located near the transcription initiation site, was abundant in HeLa cells, while it was absent from AGS cells. Exogenous addition of ZEB1 led to the repression of Zp in AGS cells. We conclude that the unusually high Zp activity level in AGS cells is due to the high abundance of positively acting transcription factors such as c-Jun combined with the low abundance of negatively acting factors such as ZEB1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-hai Feng
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Yu F, Feng J, Harada JN, Chanda SK, Kenney SC, Sun R. B cell terminal differentiation factor XBP-1 induces reactivation of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. FEBS Lett 2007; 581:3485-8. [PMID: 17617410 DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2007.06.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2007] [Revised: 06/15/2007] [Accepted: 06/22/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The herpesvirus life cycle has two distinct phases: latency and lytic replication. The viral immediate early protein replication and transcription activator (RTA) plays a central role in mediating the balance between these two phases. Here, we demonstrate that a B cell terminal differentiation factor X-box binding protein 1 (XBP-1) can effectively initiates Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) reactivation by activating the RTA promoter, which results in the induction of other viral lytic transcripts. We also showed splicing of the XBP-1 mRNA which specifically occurs during B cell differentiation is critical in triggering KSHV reactivation. This work demonstrates the integration of KSHV reactivation mechanisms with host cell differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuqu Yu
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California at Los Angeles, CHS23-120, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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40
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Bhende PM, Dickerson SJ, Sun X, Feng WH, Kenney SC. X-box-binding protein 1 activates lytic Epstein-Barr virus gene expression in combination with protein kinase D. J Virol 2007; 81:7363-70. [PMID: 17494074 PMCID: PMC1933364 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.00154-07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes a latent form of infection in memory B cells, while antibody-secreting plasma cells often harbor the lytic form of infection. The switch between latent and lytic EBV infection is mediated by the two viral immediate-early proteins BZLF1 (Z) and BRLF1 (R), which are not expressed in latently infected B cells. Here we demonstrate that a cellular transcription factor that plays an essential role in plasma cell differentiation, X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP-1), also activates the transcription of the two EBV immediate-early gene promoters. In reporter gene assays, XBP-1 alone was sufficient to activate the R promoter, whereas the combination of XBP-1 and protein kinase D (PKD) was required for efficient activation of the Z promoter. Most importantly, the expression of XBP-1 and activated PKD was sufficient to induce lytic viral gene expression in EBV-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and lymphoblastoid cells, while an XBP-1 small interfering RNA inhibited constitutive lytic EBV gene expression in lymphoblastoid cells. These results suggest that the plasma cell differentiation factor XBP-1, in combination with activated PKD, can mediate the reactivation of EBV, thereby allowing the viral life cycle to be intimately linked to plasma cell differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasanna M Bhende
- Department of Medicine, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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41
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Jones RJ, Dickerson S, Bhende PM, Delecluse HJ, Kenney SC. Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection induces retinoic acid-responsive genes through induction of a retinol-metabolizing enzyme, DHRS9. J Biol Chem 2007; 282:8317-24. [PMID: 17244623 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m608667200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Lytic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication occurs in differentiated, but not undifferentiated, epithelial cells. Retinoic acid (RA) induces epithelial cell differentiation. The conversion of retinol into its active form, retinoic acid, requires retinol dehydrogenase enzymes. Here we show that AGS gastric carcinoma cells containing the lytic form of EBV infection have enhanced expression of a gene (DHRS9) encoding an enzyme that mediates conversion of retinol into RA. DHRS9 expression is also increased following induction of lytic viral infection in EBV-positive Burkitt lymphoma cells. We demonstrate that the EBV immediate-early protein, BZLF1, activates the DHRS9 promoter through a direct DNA binding mechanism. Furthermore, BZLF1 expression in AGS cells is sufficient to activate DHRS9 gene expression and increases the ability of retinol to induce the RA-responsive gene, CYP26A1. Production of RA during the lytic form of EBV infection may enhance viral replication by promoting keratinocyte differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Jones
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514, USA
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Abstract
A monoclonal antibody (Rituximab) directed against the B-cell surface antigen, CD20, is increasingly used as a therapy for B-cell lymphomas. However, CD20 is expressed on all normal mature B cells and hence is not a specific tumor target. In contrast, CD70 is expressed on highly activated lymphocytes as well as on many B-cell and T-cell lymphomas but is not expressed on the great majority of B cells and T cells. In this report, we have explored the potential utility of anti-CD70 monoclonal antibodies for treatment of CD70+ EBV+ B-cell lymphomas. Using two Burkitt's lymphoma lines (Raji and Jijoye) that express surface CD70 and a CD70- Burkitt's lymphoma line (Akata), we show that two different monoclonal antibodies directed against human CD70 allow rabbit and human complement to kill EBV+ B cells in a CD70-dependent manner in vitro. In the absence of complement, neither anti-CD70 antibody induced in vitro killing of CD70+ cell lines. Importantly, i.p. injection of anti-CD70 antibodies also inhibited the growth of CD70+ Burkitt's lymphoma cells in severe combined immunodeficient mice but did not inhibit the growth of CD70- Burkitt's lymphoma cells. These results suggest that anti-CD70 antibodies may be useful for the treatment of CD70+ B-cell lymphomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruce F Israel
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Hong GK, Kumar P, Wang L, Damania B, Gulley ML, Delecluse HJ, Polverini PJ, Kenney SC. Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection is required for efficient production of the angiogenesis factor vascular endothelial growth factor in lymphoblastoid cell lines. J Virol 2006; 79:13984-92. [PMID: 16254334 PMCID: PMC1280197 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.22.13984-13992.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancies are primarily composed of cells with one of the latent forms of EBV infection, a small subset of tumor cells containing the lytic form of infection is often observed. Whether the rare lytically infected tumor cells contribute to the growth of the latently infected tumor cells is unclear. Here we have investigated whether the lytically infected subset of early-passage lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) could potentially contribute to tumor growth through the production of angiogenesis factors. We demonstrate that supernatants from early-passage LCLs infected with BZLF1-deleted virus (Z-KO LCLs) are highly impaired in promoting endothelial cell tube formation in vitro compared to wild-type (WT) LCL supernatants. Furthermore, expression of the BZLF1 gene product in trans in Z-KO LCLs restored angiogenic capacity. The supernatants of Z-KO LCLs, as well as supernatants from LCLs derived with a BRLF1-deleted virus (R-KO LCLs), contained much less vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in comparison to WT LCLs. BZLF1 gene expression in Z-KO LCLs restored the VEGF level in the supernatant. However, the cellular level of VEGF mRNA was similar in Z-KO, R-KO, and WT LCLs, suggesting that lytic infection may enhance VEGF translation or secretion. Interestingly, a portion of the vasculature in LCL tumors in SCID mice was derived from the human LCLs. These results suggest that lytically infected cells may contribute to the growth of EBV-associated malignancies by enhancing angiogenesis. In addition, as VEGF is a pleiotropic factor with effects other than angiogenesis, lytically induced VEGF secretion may potentially contribute to viral pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory K Hong
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Hong GK, Gulley ML, Feng WH, Delecluse HJ, Holley-Guthrie E, Kenney SC. Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection contributes to lymphoproliferative disease in a SCID mouse model. J Virol 2006; 79:13993-4003. [PMID: 16254335 PMCID: PMC1280209 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.79.22.13993-14003.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Most Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive tumor cells contain one of the latent forms of viral infection. The role of lytic viral gene expression in EBV-associated malignancies is unknown. Here we show that EBV mutants that cannot undergo lytic viral replication are defective in promoting EBV-mediated lymphoproliferative disease (LPD). Early-passage lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from EBV mutants with a deletion of either viral immediate-early gene grew similarly to wild-type (WT) virus LCLs in vitro but were deficient in producing LPD when inoculated into SCID mice. Restoration of lytic EBV gene expression enhanced growth in SCID mice. Acyclovir, which prevents lytic viral replication but not expression of early lytic viral genes, did not inhibit the growth of WT LCLs in SCID mice. Early-passage LCLs derived from the lytic-defective viruses had substantially decreased expression of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), and restoration of lytic gene expression reversed this defect. Expression of cellular IL-10 and viral IL-10 was also diminished in lytic-defective LCLs. These results suggest that lytic EBV gene expression contributes to EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disease, potentially through induction of paracrine B-cell growth factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory K Hong
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome is highly methylated in latently infected cells. We recently reported that the EBV immediate-early (IE) protein BZLF1 (Z) preferentially binds to and activates transcription from the methylated form of the BRLF1 IE gene promoter (Rp). We now report that serine residue 186 in the Z DNA-binding domain plays an important role in the ability of Z to bind to and activate methylated Rp. A Z mutant containing an alanine residue at position 186 [Z(S186A)] was significantly defective in binding to methylated, as well as unmethylated, ZREs (Z-responsive elements) in Rp and was unable to activate lytic EBV gene transcription from the methylated or demethylated form of the viral genome. A Z mutant containing threonine at residue 186 [Z(S186T)] bound only to the methylated form of the ZRE-2 site in Rp and induced lytic EBV gene transcription from the methylated, but not demethylated, form of the viral genome. The defect in both of these mutants was primarily due to an inability to activate the Rp in the context of the viral genome. Finally, a Z mutant containing an aspartic acid at position 186 [Z(S186D)] did not bind to either the consensus AP-1 site or to the methylated or unmethylated Rp ZRE-2 site and did not induce lytic gene transcription. These results indicate that replacement of serine with threonine at residue 186 in the Z DNA-binding domain differentially affects its ability to reactivate the unmethylated, versus methylated, viral genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasanna M Bhende
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, CB# 7295, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Abstract
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BMRF1 gene encodes an early lytic protein that functions not only as the viral DNA polymerase processivity factor but also as a transcriptional activator. BMRF1 has been previously shown to activate transcription of an EBV early promoter, BHLF1, though a GC-rich motif which binds to SP1 and ZBP-89, although the exact mechanism for this effect is not known (D. J. Law, S. A. Tarle, and J. L. Merchant, Mamm. Genome 9:165-167, 1998). Here we demonstrate that BMRF1 activates transcription of the cellular gastrin gene in telomerase-immortalized keratinocytes. Furthermore, BMRF1 activated a reporter gene construct driven by the gastrin promoter in a variety of cell types, and this effect was mediated by two SP1/ZBP-89 binding sites in the gastrin promoter. ZBP-89 has been previously shown to negatively regulate the gastrin promoter. However, ZBP-89 can function as either a negative or positive regulator of transcription, depending upon the promoter and perhaps other, as-yet-unidentified factors. BMRF1 increased the binding of ZBP-89 to the gastrin promoter, and a ZBP-89-GAL4 fusion protein was converted into a positive transcriptional regulator by cotransfection with BMRF1. BMRF1 also enhanced the transcriptional activity of an SP1-GAL4 fusion protein. These results suggest that BMRF1 activates target promoters through its effect on both the SP1 and ZBP-89 transcription factors. Furthermore, as the EBV genome is present in up to 10% of gastric cancers, and the different forms of gastrin are growth factors for gastrointestinal epithelium, our results suggest a mechanism by which lytic EBV infection could promote the growth of gastric cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Holley-Guthrie
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, CB # 7295, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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47
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Feng WH, Cohen JI, Fischer S, Li L, Sneller M, Goldbach-Mansky R, Raab-Traub N, Delecluse HJ, Kenney SC. Reactivation of latent Epstein-Barr virus by methotrexate: a potential contributor to methotrexate-associated lymphomas. J Natl Cancer Inst 2004; 96:1691-702. [PMID: 15547182 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djh313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 205] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with rheumatoid arthritis or polymyositis treated with methotrexate (MTX) develop Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphomas more frequently than patients treated with other, equally immunosuppressive regimens. Here we determined whether MTX, in contrast to other commonly used medications for rheumatoid arthritis or polymyositis, is unique in its ability to induce the release of infectious EBV from latently infected cells. METHODS The effect of MTX and other immunosuppressant drugs on EBV replication in vitro was assessed using latently infected EBV-positive lymphoblastoid and gastric carcinoma cell lines. Inhibitors of signal transduction pathways were used to define requirements for induction of lytic infection. Drug effects on transcription of the two EBV immediate-early promoters (BRLF1 and BZLF1) and on promoter constructs lacking cis-acting sequences required for activation by other effectors was examined using reporter gene assays. EBV viral load in rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis patients receiving MTX was compared with that in patients receiving other immunosuppressive medications. Statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS MTX activated the release of infectious EBV from latently infected cell lines in vitro, and MTX treatment was associated with activation of the two viral immediate-early promoters in reporter gene assays. Induction of lytic EBV infection by MTX required the p38 MAP kinase, PI3 kinase, and MEK pathways and specific cis-acting motifs in the two viral immediate-early promoters. Patients treated with MTX-containing regimens had statistically significantly higher mean EBV loads in their blood than patients treated with immunosuppressing regimens that did not include MTX (40 EBV copies per 10(6) cellular genomes versus 5.1 copies; geometric mean fold difference in copies = 10.8, 95%, confidence interval = 3.0 to 38; P = .011). CONCLUSION MTX may promote EBV-positive lymphomas in rheumatoid arthritis and polymyositis patients by its immunosuppressive properties as well as by reactivating latent EBV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-hai Feng
- Department of Medicine and Microbiology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-7295, USA
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48
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Morrison TE, Kenney SC. BZLF1, an Epstein-Barr virus immediate-early protein, induces p65 nuclear translocation while inhibiting p65 transcriptional function. Virology 2004; 328:219-32. [PMID: 15464842 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2004.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2004] [Revised: 05/27/2004] [Accepted: 07/14/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
We have previously demonstrated that the Epstein-Barr virus immediate-early BZLF1 protein interacts with, and is inhibited by, the NF-kappaB family member p65. However, the effects of BZLF1 on NF-kappaB activity have not been intensively studied. Here we show that BZLF1 inhibits p65-dependent gene expression. BZLF1 inhibited the ability of IL-1, as well as transfected p65, to activate the expression of two different NF-kappaB-responsive genes, ICAM-1 and IkappaB-alpha. BZLF1 also reduced the constitutive level of IkappaB-alpha protein in HeLa and A549 cells, and increased the amount of nuclear NF-kappaB to a similar extent as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) treatment. In spite of this BZLF1-associated increase in the nuclear form of NF-kappaB, BZLF1 did not induce binding of NF-kappaB to NF-kappaB responsive promoters (as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay) in vivo, although TNF-alpha treatment induced NF-kappaB binding as expected. Overexpression of p65 dramatically inhibited the lytic replication cycle of EBV in 293-EBV cells, confirming that NF-kappaB also inhibits BZLF1 transcriptional function. Our results are consistent with a model in which BZLF1 inhibits the transcriptional function of p65, resulting in decreased transcription of IkappaB-alpha, decreased expression of IkappaB-alpha protein, and subsequent translocation of NF-kappaB to the nucleus. This nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB may promote viral latency by negatively regulating BZLF1 transcriptional activity. In situations where p65 activity is limiting in comparison to BZLF1, the ability of BZLF1 to inhibit p65 transcriptional function may protect the virus from the host immune system during the lytic form of infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas E Morrison
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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49
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Bhende PM, Seaman WT, Delecluse HJ, Kenney SC. The EBV lytic switch protein, Z, preferentially binds to and activates the methylated viral genome. Nat Genet 2004; 36:1099-104. [PMID: 15361873 DOI: 10.1038/ng1424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2004] [Accepted: 08/09/2004] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
DNA methylation promotes gene silencing, yet the Epstein-Barr virus immediate-early protein, BZLF1 (Z), converts the virus from the latent to the lytic form of infection even when the viral genome is highly methylated. Here we show that methylation of CpG motifs in Z-responsive elements of the viral BRLF1 immediate-early promoter enhances Z binding to, and activation of, this promoter. Demethylation of the viral genome impairs Z activation of lytic viral genes. Z is the first transcription factor that preferentially binds to, and activates, a methylated promoter. These results identify an unexpected mechanism by which Epstein-Barr virus circumvents the inhibitory effects of viral genome methylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasanna M Bhende
- Department of Medicine, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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50
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Makhov AM, Subramanian D, Holley-Guthrie E, Kenney SC, Griffith JD. The Epstein-Barr Virus Polymerase Accessory Factor BMRF1 Adopts a Ring-shaped Structure as Visualized by Electron Microscopy. J Biol Chem 2004; 279:40358-61. [PMID: 15286084 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m408733200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encodes a set of core replication factors used during lytic infection in human cells that parallels the factors used in many other systems. These include a DNA polymerase and its accessory factor, a helicase/primase, and a single strand binding protein. The EBV polymerase accessory factor has been identified as the product of the BMRF1 gene and has been shown by functional assays to increase the activity and processivity of the polymerase. Unlike other members of this class of factors, BMRF1 is also a transcription factor regulating certain EBV genes. Although several polymerase accessory factors, including eukaryotic proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Escherichia coli beta protein, and T4 gene 45 protein have been shown to form oligomeric rings termed sliding clamps, nothing is known about the oligomeric state of BMRF1 or whether it forms a ring. In this work, BMRF1 was purified directly from human cells infected with an adenovirus vector expressing the BMRF1 gene product. The protein was purified to near homogeneity, and examination by negative staining electron microscopy revealed large, flat, ring-shaped molecules with a diameter of 15.5 +/- 0.8 nm and a distinct 5.3-nm diameter hole in the center. The size of these rings is consistent with an oligomer of 6 monomers, nearly twice as large as the trimeric proliferating cell nuclear antigen ring. Unlike the herpes simplex virus UL42 homologue, BMRF1 was found to self-associate in solution. These findings extend the theme of polymerase accessory factors adopting ring-shaped structures and provide an example in which the ring is significantly larger than any previously described sliding clamp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M Makhov
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7295, USA
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