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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (7 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2015)

Mapping host-pathogen interactions has proven instrumental for understanding how viruses manipulate host machinery and how numerous cellular processes are regulated. DNA viruses such as herpesviruses have relatively large coding capacity and thus can target an extensive network of cellular proteins. To identify the host proteins hijacked by this pathogen, we systematically affinity tagged and purified all 89 proteins of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) from human cells. Mass spectrometry of this material identified over 500 high-confidence virus-host interactions. KSHV causes AIDS-associated cancers and its interaction network is enriched for proteins linked to cancer and overlaps with proteins that are also targeted by HIV-1. This work revealed many new interactions between viral and host proteins. I have focused on one interaction in particular, that of a previously uncharacterized KSHV protein, ORF24, with cellular RNA polymerase II (RNAP II).

All DNA viruses encode a class of genes that are expressed only late in the infectious cycle, following replication of the viral genome. These ‘late’ genes are subject to tight regulation and must be robustly induced during a period of significant cell stress, yet in many cases have strikingly minimal promoters. For most viruses, the mechanism underlying the activation of these genes has remained largely unknown. I have shown that late gene expression in KSHV requires ORF24, which nucleates a non-canonical transcription complex. I have found that ORF24 is a modular protein that binds directly and specifically to viral late gene TATA-like boxes through its central domain, which was previously predicted to structurally mimic TATA-box-binding protein (TBP). Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses show that ORF24 functionally replaces human TBP at these promoters. This is highly unusual, as cellular TBP canonically serves as a critical nucleation factor for the assembly of transcription pre-initiation complexes (PICs) at promoters. Through residues in its N-terminus, ORF24 then binds RNAP II to activate late gene expression. This strategy appears to be conserved in multiple related herpesviruses, and represents a novel, streamlined mechanism for transcriptional activation.

As the late gene PIC appears deviates from the canonical complex, I have worked to define the viral and cellular proteins assembled at these promoters. Foundational work in related herpesviruses has revealed a complex of six viral proteins (including ORF24) to be essential for late gene expression. We have mapped the pairwise interactions between these viral proteins and found that the four other late gene viral transactivators (vTFs) interact with ORF24 through the viral protein ORF34. The interaction between ORF24 and ORF34 is essential for the expression of late genes. Aside from ORF24 and ORF34, the precise roles of the other vTFs in late gene expression remain unknown and are an ongoing area of research.

    Cover page: Global mapping of herpesvirus-host protein complexes reveals a novel transcription strategy for late genes
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2016)
    Transcription of herpesviral late genes is stimulated after the onset of viral DNA replication but otherwise restricted. Late gene expression in gammaherpesviruses requires the coordination of six early viral proteins, termed viral transactivation factors (vTFs). Here, we mapped the organization of this protein complex for Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. Disruption of this complex via point mutation of the interaction interface between the open reading frame 24 (ORF24) and ORF34 vTFs ablated both late gene expression and viral replication.
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UCLA Previously Published Works (2014)
      Infection with the human gammaherpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is associated with several cancers. During lytic replication of herpesviruses, viral genes are expressed in an ordered cascade. However, the mechanism by which late gene expression is regulated has not been well characterized in gammaherpesviruses. In this study, we have investigated the cis element that mediates late gene expression during de novo lytic infection with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68). A reporter system was established and used to assess the activity of viral late gene promoters upon infection with MHV-68. It was found that the viral origin of lytic replication, orilyt, must be on the reporter plasmid to support activation of the late gene promoter. Furthermore, the DNA sequence required for the activation of late gene promoters was mapped to a core element containing a distinct TATT box and its neighboring sequences. The critical nucleotides of the TATT box region were determined by systematic mutagenesis in the reporter system, and the significance of these nucleotides was confirmed in the context of the viral genome. In addition, EBV and KSHV late gene core promoters could be activated by MHV-68 lytic replication, indicating that the mechanisms controlling late gene expression are conserved among gammaherpesviruses. Therefore, our results on MHV-68 establish a solid foundation for mechanistic studies of late gene regulation.
        Cover page: Unconventional Sequence Requirement for Viral Late Gene Core Promoters of Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2015)
        Infection of cells with DNA viruses triggers innate immune responses mediated by DNA sensors. cGMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is a key DNA sensor that produces the cyclic dinucleotide cGMP-AMP (cGAMP) upon activation, which binds to and activates stimulator of interferon genes (STING), leading to IFN production and an antiviral response. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a DNA virus that is linked to several human malignancies. We report that KSHV infection activates the cGAS-STING pathway, and that cGAS and STING also play an important role in regulating KSHV reactivation from latency. We screened KSHV proteins for their ability to inhibit this pathway and identified six viral proteins that block IFN-β activation through this pathway. This study is the first report identifying multiple viral proteins encoded by a human DNA virus that inhibit the cGAS-STING DNA sensing pathway. One such protein, viral interferon regulatory factor 1 (vIRF1), targets STING by preventing it from interacting with TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1), thereby inhibiting STING's phosphorylation and concomitant activation, resulting in an inhibition of the DNA sensing pathway. Our data provide a unique mechanism for the negative regulation of STING-mediated DNA sensing. Moreover, the depletion of vIRF1 in the context of KSHV infection prevented efficient viral reactivation and replication, and increased the host IFN response to KSHV. The vIRF1-expressing cells also inhibited IFN-β production following infection with DNA pathogens. Collectively, our results demonstrate that gammaherpesviruses encode inhibitors that block cGAS-STING-mediated antiviral immunity, and that modulation of this pathway is important for viral transmission and the lifelong persistence of herpesviruses in the human population.
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2020)
          β- and γ-herpesviruses include the oncogenic human viruses Kaposi's sarcoma-associated virus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which is a significant cause of congenital disease. Near the end of their replication cycle, these viruses transcribe their late genes in a manner distinct from host transcription. Late gene transcription requires six virally encoded proteins, one of which is a functional mimic of host TATA-box-binding protein (TBP) that is also involved in recruitment of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) via unknown mechanisms. Here, we applied biochemical protein interaction studies together with electron microscopy-based imaging of a reconstituted human preinitiation complex to define the mechanism underlying Pol II recruitment. These data revealed that the herpesviral TBP, encoded by ORF24 in KSHV, makes a direct protein-protein contact with the C-terminal domain of host RNA polymerase II (Pol II), which is a unique feature that functionally distinguishes viral from cellular TBP. The interaction is mediated by the N-terminal domain (NTD) of ORF24 through a conserved motif that is shared in its β- and γ-herpesvirus homologs. Thus, these herpesviruses employ an unprecedented strategy in eukaryotic transcription, wherein promoter recognition and polymerase recruitment are facilitated by a single transcriptional activator with functionally distinct domains.
            Cover page: The gammaherpesviral TATA-box-binding protein directly interacts with the CTD of host RNA Pol II to direct late gene transcription
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2014)
            Infection with the human gammaherpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is associated with several cancers. During lytic replication of herpesviruses, viral genes are expressed in an ordered cascade. However, the mechanism by which late gene expression is regulated has not been well characterized in gammaherpesviruses. In this study, we have investigated the cis element that mediates late gene expression during de novo lytic infection with murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68). A reporter system was established and used to assess the activity of viral late gene promoters upon infection with MHV-68. It was found that the viral origin of lytic replication, orilyt, must be on the reporter plasmid to support activation of the late gene promoter. Furthermore, the DNA sequence required for the activation of late gene promoters was mapped to a core element containing a distinct TATT box and its neighboring sequences. The critical nucleotides of the TATT box region were determined by systematic mutagenesis in the reporter system, and the significance of these nucleotides was confirmed in the context of the viral genome. In addition, EBV and KSHV late gene core promoters could be activated by MHV-68 lytic replication, indicating that the mechanisms controlling late gene expression are conserved among gammaherpesviruses. Therefore, our results on MHV-68 establish a solid foundation for mechanistic studies of late gene regulation.
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2015)
              Mapping host-pathogen interactions has proven instrumental for understanding how viruses manipulate host machinery and how numerous cellular processes are regulated. DNA viruses such as herpesviruses have relatively large coding capacity and thus can target an extensive network of cellular proteins. To identify the host proteins hijacked by this pathogen, we systematically affinity tagged and purified all 89 proteins of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) from human cells. Mass spectrometry of this material identified over 500 virus-host interactions. KSHV causes AIDS-associated cancers, and its interaction network is enriched for proteins linked to cancer and overlaps with proteins that are also targeted by HIV-1. We found that the conserved KSHV protein ORF24 binds to RNA polymerase II and brings it to viral late promoters by mimicking and replacing cellular TATA-box-binding protein (TBP). This is required for herpesviral late gene expression, a complex and poorly understood phase of the viral lifecycle.
                Cover page: Global Mapping of Herpesvirus-Host Protein Complexes Reveals a Transcription Strategy for Late Genes
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