Dual EBNA1 promoter usage by Epstein-Barr virus in human B-cell lines expressing unique intermediate cellular phenotypes

Comprehensive Profiling of EBV Gene Expression and Promoter Methylation Reveals Latency II Viral Infection and Sporadic Abortive Lytic Activation in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latency patterns are well defined in EBV-associated epithelial, NK/T-cell, and B-cell malignancies, with links between latency stage and tumorigenesis deciphered in various studies. In vitro studies suggest that the oncogenic activity of EBV in T-cells might be somewhat different from that in EBV-tropic B lymphoid cells, prompting us to study this much less investigated viral gene expression pattern and its regulation in nine EBV+ peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) biopsies. Using frozen specimens, RT-PCR showed 6/7 cases with a latency II pattern of EBV gene expression. Analyses of EBNA1 promoter usage and CpG methylation status in these six cases showed that only Qp was used, while Cp, Wp, and Fp were all silent. However, the remaining case showed an exceptionally unique latency III type with lytic activation, as evidenced by EBV lytic clonality and confirmed by the full usage of Cp and Qp as well as weakly lytic Fp and Wp, fully unmethylated Cp and marginally unmethylated Wp. Further immunostaining of the eight cases revealed a few focally clustered LMP1+ cells in 7/8 cases, with rare isolated LMP1+ cells detected in another case. Double immunostaining confirmed that the LMP1+ cells were of the T-cell phenotype (CD3+). In 6/8 cases, sporadically scattered Zta+ cells were detected. Double staining of EBER-ISH with T-cell (CD45RO/UCHL1) or B-cell (CD20) markers confirmed that the vast majority of EBER+ cells were of the T-cell phenotype. Predominant type-A EBV variant and LMP1 30-bp deletion variant were present, with both F and f variants detected. In summary, the EBV gene expression pattern in PTCL was found to be mainly of latency II (BART+EBNA1(Qp)+LMP1+LMP2A+BZLF1+), similar to that previously reported in EBV-infected nasopharyngeal epithelial, NK/T-cell, and Hodgkin malignancies; however, fully lytic infection could also be detected in occasional cases. Rare cells with sporadic immediate-early gene expression were commonly detected in PTCL. These findings have implications for the future development of EBV-targeting therapeutics for this cancer.

The Epstein-Barr virus major latent promoter Qp is constitutively active, hypomethylated, and methylation sensitive

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) is indispensable for viral DNA replication and episome maintenance in latency. Four promoters, Cp, Wp, Qp, and Fp, are known to drive EBNA1 expression. Here we show that the TATA-less Qp is constitutively active in a variety of EBV-positive [EBV(+)] tumors and cell lines, irrespective of the activities of other EBNA1 promoters, the type of viral latency, and the cell type. The transcription of highly regulated promoters such as the EBV Cp is known to be directly regulated by CpG methylation. To characterize the role of CpG methylation in the regulation of the constitutively active Qp, we performed bisulfite genomic sequencing and functional analyses using a methylation cassette transcriptional reporter assay. Twenty consecutive CpG sites (16 proximal to the Qp initiation site and 4 upstream of the adjacent Fp initiation site) were studied by bisulfite sequencing of DNA extracted from EBV(+) tumors and cell lines. Eighteen EBV(+) tumors of lymphoid (B, T, and NK cell) or epithelial origin and five Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines were studied. The 16 CpG sites proximal to Qp were virtually all unmethylated, but the 4 CpG sites upstream of the Fp initiation site were variably methylated. The methylation cassette assay showed that in vitro methylation of the Qp cassette (-172 to +32) resulted in strong repression of Qp activity in transient transfection. Thus, Qp is susceptible to repression by methylation but was found to be consistently hypomethylated and expressed in all tumors and tumor-derived cell lines studied.

Transcription of Epstein-Barr virus latent cycle genes in oral hairy leukoplakia

The hairy leukoplakia lesion (HLP) is a unique example of a permissive infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the tongue epithelium. HLP contains abundant replicating viral DNA and may be coinfected with multiple EBV strains. In this study, characterization of viral gene transcription within HLP biopsy specimens revealed that several genes, usually expressed in latently infected lymphocytes, are also transcribed in the HLP lesion. The BamHI W and C promoters, (Wp and Cp) are consistently active in the HLP lesion, resulting in transcription and processing of mRNAs that encode the Epstein-Barr nuclear antigens (EBNAs) EBNA-LP, EBNA1, EBNA2, EBNA3B, and EBNA3C. The EBNA2 protein has been shown to activate expression of the EBV receptor, CD21. In HLP, CD21 transcription is also detected, usually in samples that contain transcripts for EBNA2. Transcripts encoding the LMP1 gene, the LMP2 gene, and rightward transcripts from the BamHI A fragment of the EBV genome are also detected in HLP. These gene products are invariably expressed in latently infected lymphocytes. This pattern of transcription suggests that genes characteristic of latent infection are also expressed in HLP. The activation of Wp and expression of EBNA2 and CD21 may contribute to the unique ability of the HLP lesion to permit superinfection and viral replication of multiple EBV strains.

Detection by monoclonal antibodies of the Wilms' tumor (WT1) nuclear protein in patients with acute leukemia

The WT1 gene encodes a transcriptional regulator which during embryogenesis is involved in growth control and differentiation of diverse tissues. It is also expressed in few human malignancies, including acute leukemia. We tested 3 different monoclonal antibodies (MAbs H2, H7, HCl7) and the polyvalent serum WTC-19 for WT1 protein detection in mononuclear cell (MNC) preparations of 104 newly diagnosed acute leukemia patients. Using RT-PCR, these MNC preparations were also analyzed for WT1 gene expression. MAbs H2, H7 and HCl7 and the polyclonal WTC-19 exhibited nuclear immunoreactivity in 63 of 99, 28 of 56, 38 of 60 and 22 of 43 WT1 gene-expressing leukemia samples, respectively. With these antibodies, no WT1 immunoreactivity was found in MNCs from blood of healthy volunteers, from CD34+ progenitor cell-enriched leukapheresis products of patients conditioned for peripheral stem cell harvest or from reactive bone marrow. Contrary to WTC-19, all MAbs reacted highly specifically with the WT1 protein (0.71 vs. 1.0). The WT1 protein was heterogeneously detected in leukemia blast preparations by all antibodies, irrespective of cell morphology. Very few HL60 cells and blasts from newly diagnosed leukemia patients interspersed among normal blood MNCs (50 blasts among 5 x 10(5) MNCs) were easy to identify by indirect immunofluorescence using MAbs H2 and HCl7. Taken together, MAbs H2 and HCl7 were superior to MAb H7 and the polyvalent WTC-19 in detecting the WT1 nuclear protein.

Transcription of latent and replicative Epstein-Barr-virus genes in bone-marrow and peripheral-blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors

Reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction has been used to analyze the expression of 2 latent genes (EBNA-1 and LMP-1) and one replicative gene (BZLF-1) of Epstein-Barr virus in mononuclear cells from bone marrow and peripheral blood of healthy donors. EBV-gene transcription was detected in 8 out of 15 bone-marrow samples. Among these, 5 allowed the detection of latency-associated transcripts in the absence of BZLF-1 expression. Only one sample showed positivity for expression of both latent and lytic genes. In 2 cases, BZLF-1 was the only transcript detected. In peripheral blood, 4 out of 7 samples showed evidence of EBNA-1 transcription; LMP-1 was expressed in 5 samples, and in 2 cases concomitant expression of EBNA-1 and BZLF-1 was detected. These results provide a direct demonstration by RT-PCR of EBV-gene transcription in bone-marrow-resident viral infected cells and suggest, in contrast to previous studies on peripheral blood, that LMP-1 and BZLF-1 are frequently transcribed also in absence of EBV-related disease. The heterogeneous viral gene expression found makes it difficult to define a pattern of viral latency in vivo which coincides with that described for lymphoblastoid or Burkitt's-lymphoma cell lines at different stages of differentiation.

Cloning and characterization of the promoter region of the human keratinocyte growth factor gene

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), a member of the fibroblast growth factor family of related proteins, is expressed by stromal fibroblasts and acts on epithelial cells in a paracrine fashion. To understand the mechanisms responsible for regulating normal KGF expression and how these might be altered in disease, the 5'-flanking region of this gene was cloned. The presence of two KGF transcription initiation sites was suggested by ribonuclease protection assay and confirmed by primer extension analysis. Examination of the genomic DNA sequence revealed the presence of the putative promoter sequences TATTTA and CCAAT, located 31 and 50 base pairs upstream, respectively, from the first of the two mRNA start points, and putative initiator sequences surrounding each transcription start site. Transient transfection into murine NIH/3T3 fibroblasts demonstrated that the region required for basal level KGF promoter activity was located between bases -225 and +190. Inclusion of sequences between -1503 and -775 markedly reduced promoter activation, indicating the presence of negative regulatory element(s) in this region. A similar pattern of promoter activation was detected in human fibroblasts and in murine C2C12 myoblasts. In contrast, no chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity was observed in macrophages and epithelial and lymphoid cells transfected with the same constructs. Northern blot analysis revealed a strong correlation between KGF RNA expression and promoter activation in all cells tested. Activation of the KGF promoter could be induced by the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin 1 and interleukin 6 and by the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin. Taken together, these results indicate the existence of cis-acting element(s) responsible for selective activation of the KGF promoter only in cells that express KGF mRNA and may provide a mechanistic basis for KGF gene expression during inflammation.