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Journal of Virology, June 2005, p. 7396-7401, Vol. 79, No. 12
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.79.12.7396-7401.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and G.W. Hooper Foundation, Departments of Microbiology and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0552
Received 11 February 2005/ Accepted 22 February 2005
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Herpes simplex virus (HSV) AE has been shown to possess both alkaline exonuclease and resolvase activity on DNA (9, 11, 14, 15); these functions are believed to be important for processing and packaging the viral genome in lytically infected cells. KSHV SOX and HSV-1 AE proteins exhibit a 26% overall identity and 67% identity within a set of domains that are highly conserved across all the herpesvirus homologs (7), suggesting that KSHV SOX likely retains many functions ascribed to the other family members. Indeed, SOX possesses an in vitro DNase activity similar to that of HSV-1 AE (7). However, in addition to its DNase activity, SOX can clearly influence host mRNA metabolism. Although the DNase activity of SOX could not account for its mRNA shutoff function (7), we had not previously been able to determine whether the two functions are genetically separable. To further explore the relationship between DNase activity and shutoff, we have attempted to separate these two functions by extensive mutational analysis. Here we show that these two key activities are indeed separable and that residues critical for the shutoff function of SOX are not evolutionarily conserved across other herpesviruses. This supports the contention that SOX has evolved a novel function unique to KSHV. Finally, we provide evidence that SOX-induced mRNA degradation may occur within the cytoplasm, suggesting that the different functions of SOX take place in distinct cellular compartments.
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1 to 3 mutations/kb. The mutants were then cloned into the EcoRI/NotI sites of pCDEF3. Mutants with separable activities were subsequently 5' HA tagged using PCR methods and cloned into the EcoRI/NotI sites of pCDEF3 to generate pCDEF3-HAQ129H, -HAT24I, -HAA61T, -HAP176S, -HAV369I, -HAD474N, and -HAY477*. A 5' HA-tagged SOX mutant with prolines at amino acid residues 317 and 318 within the nuclear localization signal (NLS) was generated by overlapping PCR and cloned into the EcoRI/NotI sites of pCDEF3 to generate pCDEF3-HASOX NLS mut. A 5' HA-tagged HSV-1 alkaline exonuclease gene was generated by PCR and cloned into the EcoRI/NotI sites of pCDEF3 to generate pCDEF3-HA HSV AE. All plasmids were verified by restriction digest and complete sequence analysis. Cells and transfections. 293T cells (American Type Culture Collection) and SLK cells (immortalized KSHV-negative spindle cells isolated from a classical KS tumor) were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and penicillin-streptomycin. Cells were transfected using Fugene 6 (Roche).
Cell extracts, immunoblots, and Northern blots. Cell extracts used for immunoblotting were prepared in RIPA buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 150 mM NaCl, 1% [vol/vol] Nonidet P-40, 0.5% [wt/vol] sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% [wt/vol] sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]) containing protease inhibitors (Roche). Equivalent amounts of each sample were resolved by 7.5% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes, and immunoblotted with polyclonal rabbit SOX antisera at a 1:4,000 dilution and secondary horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat antirabbit antibodies (Southern Biotechnology Associates) at a 1:5,000 dilution. SOX antisera were raised against a purified, bacterially expressed glutathione S-transferase-SOX fusion protein by standard methods (10). For Northern blotting, total RNA was harvested from cells using RNA-BEE (Tel-Test, Inc.), or nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA were fractionated and harvested from cells using the PARIS kit (Ambion) and resolved by agarose-formaldehyde gel electrophoresis. RNAs were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and probed with 32P-labeled DNA probes generated using the Rediprime II random prime labeling system (Amersham Biosciences, Inc.).
DNase assays. Proteins analyzed for DNase activity were in vitro transcribed and translated (IVT) using the Rabbit Reticulocyte Lysate system (Promega). From each reaction, 8 µl of protein was incubated with 200 ng of EcoRI-linearized pCDNA3.1 plasmid DNA in 42 µl of degradation assay buffer (0.1 M MgCl2, 0.5 M Tris [pH 9.0], 100-µg/ml bovine serum albumin, 5 mM ß-mercaptoethanol) at 37°C for 1 or 15 min and then extracted with phenol-chloroform and ethanol precipitated. Pellets were resuspended in 20 µl of water, resolved on 0.8% agarose gels, and visualized by ethidium bromide staining. One-third of each IVT protein reaction was also resolved by SDS-PAGE, and the gels were fixed, dried, and developed by autoradiography to verify equivalent protein expression.
Immunofluorescence microscopy assays. SLK or 293T cells on coverslips were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and subjected to immunofluorescence assay as described previously (1) using 12CA5 anti-HA primary antibodies (Roche) at a 1:400 dilution and rhodamine-conjugated goat antimouse secondary antibodies (Santa Cruz) at a 1:300 dilution.
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FIG. 1. SOX promotes enhanced mRNA turnover. 293T cells were transfected with either empty vector or a plasmid expressing GFP or cotransfected with plasmids expressing GFP and SOX at a 1:4 ratio. Forty-eight hours posttransfection, cells were treated with actinomycin D (2 µg/ml) for the indicated time. Total RNA was extracted from each sample and subjected to Northern blotting with a 32P-labeled GFP DNA probe (upper panel). The half-life of the mRNAs was determined by phosphorimager-based quantification of the blot (lower panel).
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1 mutation/kb, generating a pool of mutants containing one to three missense mutations throughout the 1.46-kb SOX gene. Approximately 250 SOX mutants were then screened by immunoblotting for their ability to be expressed to levels comparable to that of the wild-type protein in 293T cells by Western blotting; only approximately one-third of the mutants met this criteria (data not shown). These remaining stable mutants were then tested for their ability to degrade GFP mRNA when cotransfected with a GFP plasmid into 293T cells and to degrade linearized DNA in an in vitro DNase assay. Mutants that retained only one of the two functions were then sequenced to identify mutated residues, and in cases where multiple mutations were present, each mutation was recloned to isolate single-amino-acid mutants and rescreened in the RNA and DNA turnover assays. We did not pursue mutants that were negative in both assays, since lack of any functional activity could simply be the result of a misfolded protein. Using this system, we successfully identified seven mutants that in at least five independent experiments for each assay exhibited either DNase or shutoff activity but not both (Fig. 2 and 3). One mutant (Q129H) retained wild-type shutoff activity but was completely inactive as a DNase, whereas the other six mutants (T24I, A61T, P176S, V369I, D474N, and Y477* [the asterisk indicates a stop codon]) were capable of degrading DNA but were defective at promoting mRNA turnover. Although we occasionally noted some partial retention of shutoff activity for the A61T and D474N mutants (Fig. 2), this was not consistently observed over the course of multiple experiments.
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FIG. 2. Analysis of the host shutoff activity of SOX mutants. 293T cells were transfected in duplicate with either empty vector or a plasmid expressing GFP or cotransfected with plasmids expressing GFP and either wild-type or the indicated mutant SOX at a 1:4 ratio. At 48 h posttransfection, the samples were harvested for total RNA and subjected to Northern blotting with a 32P-labeled GFP DNA probe (upper panel). Total cellular protein was harvested from the duplicate samples and subjected to Western blotting using anti-SOX ( -SOX) antibodies to verify equivalent expression of the wild-type and mutant SOX proteins (lower panel).
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FIG. 3. Analysis of the DNase activity of SOX mutants. Linearized pCDNA3 plasmid DNA was incubated with aliquots of the indicated IVT protein for 1 or 15 min in degradation assay buffer at 37°C. The DNA was then extracted, resolved by agarose gel electrophoresis, and visualized by ethidium bromide staining (upper panel). Aliquots of each IVT protein were resolved by SDS-PAGE and visualized by autoradiography to verify equivalent expression of wild-type and mutant SOX (lower panel). Arrows indicate the positions of GFP and full-length SOX. The band below SOX is likely a result of aberrant IVT initiation.
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FIG. 4. SOX single-function mutants do not display aberrant subcellular localization. SLK cells were transfected with either empty vector or plasmids expressing HA-tagged HSV-1 AE or HA-tagged wild-type or mutant SOX. Forty-eight hours posttransfection, cells were stained with HA antibodies to detect SOX and 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) to identify nuclei.
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FIG. 5. Distribution of SOX single-function mutations. SOX mutations whose proteins lack the shutoff function are indicated with black asterisks, while the mutation whose protein lacks DNase activity is indicated by the gray asterisk. Conserved domains are boxed.
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TABLE 1. Summary of location and activity of SOX single-function mutations
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FIG. 6. SOX promotes degradation of cytoplasmic mRNA. 293T cells were transfected in duplicate with empty vector or a plasmid expressing GFP or cotransfected with plasmids expressing GFP and SOX at a 1:4 ratio. Forty-eight hours posttransfection, cells were either harvested for total RNA or separated into nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA fractions and subjected to Northern blotting using a 32P-labeled GFP DNA probe.
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FIG. 7. Nuclear localization of SOX is not required for shutoff activity. (A) 293T cells were transfected with empty vector or plasmids expressing HA-tagged wild-type (HA-SOX) or NLS mutant (HA-nls mut) SOX. Twenty-four hours posttransfection, cells were stained with HA antibodies to detect SOX and 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) to identify nuclei. (B) 293T and SLK cells were transfected with either plasmid expressing GFP alone or cotransfected with plasmids expressing GFP and either wild-type or NLS mutant SOX. Twenty-four hours posttransfection, total RNA was harvested from the cells and subjected to Northern blotting with a 32P-labeled GFP DNA probe.
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Red recombinase (15). The high degree of homology between KSHV SOX and the other herpesvirus alkaline exonuclease genes is likely indicative that in KSHV this factor has retained these DNA-based functions. Indeed, we have observed in SOX a similar in vitro DNase activity, and residues previously shown to be critical for HSV-1 AE enzymatic function are both conserved and required for SOX DNase function (7, 8). Although SOX has yet to be tested for interaction with ORF6, the KSHV single-stranded DNA binding protein homolog, or for resolvase activity, it is anticipated to retain these properties as well. However, unlike the other AE homologs, KSHV SOX has acquired a novel function: the ability to promote cellular mRNA degradation. SOX-induced mRNA turnover leads to a global host gene shutoff during lytic KSHV infection (7), an event that likely facilitates efficient expression of viral genes and may also impair production of antiviral factors by the infected cell. Our ability to isolate single-function mutants defective for either DNase or shutoff provides strong evidence that these activities are truly distinct; in particular, they provide strong evidence against the notion that the loss of mRNA in SOX-expressing cells is due to DNase-mediated degradation of the DNA template. The fact that mutations inactivating the RNA degradation function do not cluster in conserved regions is consistent with the idea that this function is a recent evolutionary acquisition by the protein, in contrast to the DNase function, which is ancient and conserved across the entire family.
How does SOX function to facilitate RNA turnover? Certainly the simplest model would be that SOX has acquired RNase activity, in keeping with its membership in the nuclease superfamily. While we cannot entirely rule out this possibility, extensive efforts to detect RNase activity with recombinant SOX protein have failed (Glaunsinger and Ganem, unpublished data), despite the fact that the protein retains DNase activity (Fig. 3) and hence must be properly folded. However, it is possible that SOX may indeed possess latent or cryptic RNase activity that requires activation by a cellular cofactor. Alternatively, SOX may act by deregulating one or more components of the normal host mRNA degradation machinery. Recent work indicates that the majority of normal cellular mRNA turnover occurs within the cytoplasm (13), and our results suggest that SOX similarly promotes degradation of mRNAs in this cellular compartment (Fig. 6). It is therefore probably no coincidence that KSHV SOX localizes to both the nucleus and the cytosol, while its HSV counterpart is exclusively nuclear. Indeed, a SOX NLS mutant localized primarily in the cytosol retained wild-type host shutoff activity, suggesting that nuclear localization is not critical for this function. The notion that SOX may deregulate cytosolic mRNA degradation machinery accords well with our findings that the SOX shutoff function acts primarily in the cytoplasm. We are currently searching for host proteins that interact biochemically or functionally with SOX in an effort to identify the direct target of SOX action. If the history of virology is any guide, the identification of SOX targets may be expected to yield new insights into the control of mammalian mRNA turnover, much as the study of human immunodeficiency virus rev informed analysis of the RNA export pathway of the cell.
We thank Adam Grundhoff for critical reading of the manuscript.
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