Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, July 2003, p. 8173-8177, Vol. 77, No. 14
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.14.8173-8177.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Salama S. Al-Mehairi, and Alison J. Sinclair*
School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
Received 6 February 2003/ Accepted 21 April 2003
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
The viral protein encoded by BZLF1, Zta (EB1, BZLF1, ZEBRA), is a key component of the induction of the lytic replicative cycle of EBV (8). Increased expression of Zta is one of the first events that can be detected following the induction of the lytic cycle in EBV-harboring B lymphocytes, and the enforced expression of Zta is sufficient to induce the lytic cycle in a cell containing latent EBV genomes (reviewed in references 21 and 24). Zta acts in part as a transcription factor; it activates its own expression and the expression of a subset of EBV genes through sequence-specific Zta response elements (ZREs) within their respective promoters (reviewed in references 30, 31, and 32). Zta also acts as a replication factor later in the lytic cycle; Zta interacts with the lytic origin of replication, again through specific ZREs (24, 28). Furthermore, Zta also reprograms the host cell cycle control machinery, since enforced expression of Zta induces cell cycle arrest in several cell lineages (2, 3, 11, 19, 20, 25, 26), although the effect is not universal (20). Interestingly the effect on cell cycle does not require a direct interaction with ZREs but occurs through the activation of a cellular transcription factor, C/EBP
(36). Zta also interacts with a number of other cellular factors (reviewed in reference 30) that may extend its ability to regulate the expression of genes that do not contain ZREs.
Zta is a member of the family of bZIP transcription factors (5, 7, 9, 14, 16, 23, 31, 34); it contains adjacent DNA contact (approximately amino acids 175 to 195) and multimerization domains (approximately amino acids 196 to 245) and can interact directly with specific DNA sequence elements, i.e., ZREs (5, 7, 10, 16, 23, 35) as a multimer (reviewed in references 24 and 31). By analogy with other members of the bZIP family, the multimerization interface of Zta has been predicted to fold through a coiled-coil structure (10, 14, 31). Biophysical evidence that this prediction holds true was recently provided (12). However, the thermal stability of the resulting structure is much lower than that of the coiled coil domains of canonical members of the bZIP family (12). This suggests that either the Zta dimerization interface is relatively weak or that elements outside the coiled coil act to stabilize dimer formation and thus the DNA-binding function of Zta.
We present an exploration of the dimerization region of Zta. By using a short synthetic peptide, homologous to the coiled coil region, we demonstrate that the coiled coil interface of Zta is relevant for the function of Zta as a protein, despite its low thermal stability. In addition, we explore the impact of the amino acid sequence variation found within the zipper region of Zta in natural isolates of EBV on DNA-binding dependent functions. These studies suggest that the zipper region of Zta is a suitable target for therapeutic agents designed to prevent viral lytic cycle reactivation. Furthermore, we unmask the function of a novel region (CT) of Zta, adjacent to the coiled coil, which is required for both DNA-binding and transactivation functions. The impact of this on the present model of Zta structure is discussed.
In order to probe the relevance of the coiled coil region of Zta, we attempted to disrupt the formation and/or stability of the coiled coil within the context of the full-length Zta protein. The principle behind this has been exploited previously to generate reagents that block the function of the coiled coil containing proteins APC and human immunodeficiency virus gp41 (4, 15, 29, 37) and is illustrated in Fig. 1A. To evaluate whether this approach is viable for Zta, a synthetic peptide (ZEDpep) corresponding to residues spanning the coiled coil region of Zta (amino acids 196 to 227 of the B95-8 sequence) was used. Initial experiments revealed that the addition of ZEDpep reduced DNA complex formation by 76% without altering the stability of Zta under the reaction conditions (Fig. 1B).
![]() View larger version (28K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. A short synthetic peptide is able to disrupt the interaction of Zta with DNA. The schematic diagram of the rationale for this approach is shown in panel A. The bZIP region of Zta with the basic, DNA contact domain shown in black and the coiled coil region in grey are indicated. On the right, the short synthetic peptide (white box) interacts with the coiled coil region and prevents homodimerization and thus DNA binding. The ability of 10 nmol of ZEDpep to reduce the ability of full-length Zta to interact with a ZRE was evaluated by EMSA at 20°C. The reaction components were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and EMSA, and the relative amounts of Zta protein were calculated.
|
![]() View larger version (25K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. All three natural variants within the dimerization domain of Zta interact equivalently with DNA. The locations of amino acid residues A205 and A206 occur at b and c positions of the heptad repeat in the predicted structure of the coiled coil as shown in panel A. The coding sequences for A205 and A206 were each altered by using site-directed mutagenesis to encode serine within the B95-8 Zta cDNA (27). The resulting plasmids, B95-8, A205S, and A206S, were transcribed and translated in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system as for Fig. 1. The proteins were fractionated on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-15% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel (B). The input plasmid is indicated above each lane, and the migration of molecular weight markers is given on the left (in kilodaltons). Following exposure to a phosphorimager (Storm), the concentrations of the proteins were normalized and their ability to interact with a double-strand version of a canonical AP1 site and a ZRE from the BSLF2+BMLF1 promoter (M) was evaluated by EMSA at 20°C (C). The input proteins are indicated above with the radiolabeled probe (2 ng), and nonlabeled competitor (comp) DNAeither specific, S, (AP1) (500 ng), or nonspecific, N, (500 ng)is shown above each track. (D) The Kd values of the interaction of the B95-8, A205S, and A206S Ztas were determined by EMSA with increasing probe concentration. The data were quantitated by using phosphorimaging, and the concentrations of bound and free probe were determined according to the method described by Stone et al. (33).
|
![]() View larger version (23K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. All three forms of Zta transactivate a synthetic ZRE containing promoter equivalently in vivo. HeLa cells (obtained through ECACC) were transfected by using Effectene (Qiagen) with a total of 2 µg of DNA containing the reporter vectors, ZRE7CAT (0.5 µg) and HSVTK luciferase (0.5 µg) (Promega) (A), and either a Zta expression vector containing the full-length Zta sequences (1.0 µg) or the respective "empty" vector pBabe (22) (1.0 µg) as a control. DG75 cells were transfected by using electroporation with a total of 20 µg of DNA containing the reporter vectors, SCAT (5.0 µg) (27) and HSVTK luciferase (5.0 µg) (Promega) (C), and either a Zta expression vector containing the full-length Zta sequences (10.0 µg) or the respective "empty" vector pBabe (22) (10.0 µg) as a control. Forty-eight hours later the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and luciferase activities were determined (Promega). The relative activation (n-fold) after correction for different transfection efficiencies is shown above the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity data in panels B and C. Western blot analysis of the expression of Zta given by using the monoclonal antibody BZ1 (38) is shown in panel D.
|
![]() View larger version (30K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. The synthetic peptide is specific for Zta and can disrupt all three natural variants. The ability of ZEDpep or of an unrelated coiled coil control peptide, SKIP1 (IAALERKNAALEQKAIAALEYKIAALEKK [13]), to disrupt the ability of each of the three Zta full-length proteins to interact with AP1 sites was evaluated with EMSA. The DNA binding relative to the no-peptide control value is indicated. The error bars represent the standard deviation from two independent experiments.
|
![]() View larger version (20K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. The relevance of the C-terminal region of Zta for DNA binding was investigated. A series of truncations of the Zta coding sequence were generated (based on the B95-8 sequence) by using site-directed mutagenesis. The positions where the ter codons were introduced are indicated on the sequence (residues 191 to 245) in panel A. The prediction of the extent of coiled coil formation through this region is indicated graphically below. The x axis is aligned with the amino acid sequence above, and the y axis represents the predictive value of forming a coiled coil (17). The ter mutant series, together with B95-8 sequence, were transcribed and translated in vitro as described in the Fig. 1 legend. The resulting proteins were fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-15% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and were analyzed by phosphorimaging (Storm) (B). The migration of molecular weight markers is indicated on the left in kilodaltons. Following normalization for protein concentration (taking into account the number of methionine residues in each protein), their ability to specifically interact with a ZRE (AP1) was assessed by using EMSA at both 20 and 37°C. Following phosphorimaging, the amount of DNA-binding activity relative to B95-8 was determined (C). Error bars represent the standard deviations derived from duplicate experiments.
|
![]() View larger version (24K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. HeLa cells were transfected with a total of 2 µg of DNA containing the reporter vectors and eukaryotic expression vectors for the Zta sequences. DG75 cells were transfected by using electroporation with a total of 20 µg of DNA containing the reporter vectors, SCAT (5.0 µg) (27) and HSVTK luciferase (5.0 µg) (Promega) (A), and either a Zta expression vector containing the Zta sequences indicated in Fig. 6A (10.0 µg) or the respective "empty" vector, pBabe (22) (10.0 µg), as a control. Forty-eight hours later, the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and luciferase activities were determined (Promega). The relative activation (n-fold) after correction for different transfection efficiencies is shown above the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity data in panels B and C. Western blot analysis of the expression of Zta given by using the polyclonal antibody EE is shown in panel C.
|
Based on our previous structural analysis of the coiled coil region of Zta, we designed a short synthetic peptide that was predicted to dimerize with Zta. This successfully disrupted the ability of the full-length Zta protein to form DNA complexes, which emphasizes the relevance of the coiled coil region for the function of Zta. In addition, it establishes the principle that the coiled coil region of Zta is a suitable target for drug design. The 50% inhibitory concentration for the Zta peptide was equivalent for all three of the naturally occurring coiled coil sequence variants of Zta, which suggests that this approach may be effective for all isolates of EBV; however, since they are all in the high-micromolar range, the synthetic peptide is unlikely to be a drug candidate itself.
The contribution of residues within the CT region (amino acids 222 to 245) of Zta to its function has been addressed previously, but the various studies reached different conclusions. Deletion of the carboxy-terminal 18 amino acids did not prevent either DNA binding in vitro or transactivation of a ZRE-dependent promoter construct in vivo (23). In contrast to this, in a recently published study of a hybrid protein containing part of Zta, a strong drop in transactivator function was observed when the carboxy-terminal 5 amino acids were deleted (pZ95dletaC5) (18). Our demonstration of temperature dependence by some of the C-terminal mutants of Zta (described in Fig. 6) may explain why the contribution from the CT region had been overlooked previously. DNA complex formation is normally assayed at temperatures between 4 and 20°C, where M221ter and L225ter retain some ability to form DNA complexes. The data presented here clearly demonstrate that, under the stringent assay conditions (DNA-binding assays at 37°C), the CT region is required for the DNA-binding-dependent functions of Zta. Together this demonstrates a clear role for the CT region for dependent functions of Zta both in vitro and in vivo.
It is important that some functions of Zta are independent of complex formation with ZREs (reviewed in reference 30) and that the contribution of the CT region to those functions remains unknown. The CT region has no homology to other members of the bZIP family or other proteins in available species-wide databases (as of January 2003), so further investigation is required to ask whether the CT region may act to stabilize the coiled coil of Zta or to enhance DNA-binding function through a different mechanism.
We thank Gillian McEnroe, Kerensa Jones, Kevin Clarke, Cahora Medina Palazon, Elizabeth Woods, and Victoria Frost for molecular biology assistance; Paul Farrell, Hartmut Land, Martin Rowe, and Michael Carey for reagents; and Dek Woolfson for advice.
This work was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council and The Wellcome Trust.
Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom. ![]()
|
|
|---|
interacts with ZTA and mediates ZTA-induced p21CIP-1 accumulation and G1 cell cycle arrest during the Epstein-Barr virus lytic cycle. J. Virol. 77:1481-1500.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»