Sequence-specific and/or stereospecific constraints of the U3 enhancer elements of MCF 247-W are important for pathogenicity

Duplication of U3 sequences in the long terminal repeat of mink cell focus-inducing viruses generates redundancies of transcription factor binding sites important for the induction of thymomas

The ability of mink cell focus-inducing (MCF) viruses to induce thymomas is determined, in part, by transcriptional enhancers in the U3 region of their long terminal repeats (LTRs). To elucidate sequence motifs important for enhancer function in vivo, we injected newborn mice with MCF 1dr (supF), a weakly pathogenic, molecularly tagged (supF) MCF virus containing only one copy of a sequence that is present as two copies (known as the directly repeated [DR] sequence) in the U3 region of MCF 247 and analyzed LTRs from supF-tagged proviruses in two resulting thymomas. Tagged proviruses integrated upstream and in the reverse transcriptional orientation relative to c-myc provided the focus of our studies. These proviruses are thought to contribute to thymoma induction by enhancer-mediated deregulation of c-myc expression. The U3 region in a tagged LTR in one thymoma was cloned and sequenced. Relative to MCF 1dr (supF), the cloned U3 region contained an insertion of 140 bp derived predominantly from the DR sequence of the injected virus. The inserted sequence contains predicted binding sites for transcription factors known to regulate the U3 regions of various murine leukemia viruses. Similar constellations of binding sites were duplicated in two proviral LTRs integrated upstream from c-myc in a second thymoma. We replaced the U3 sequences in an infectious molecular clone of MCF 247 with the cloned proviral U3 sequences from the first thymoma and generated an infectious chimeric virus, MCF ProEn. When injected into neonatal AKR mice, MCF ProEn was more pathogenic than the parental virus, MCF 1dr (supF), as evidenced by the more rapid onset and higher incidence of thymomas. Molecular analyses of the resultant thymomas indicated that the U3 region of MCF ProEn was genetically stable. These data suggest that the arrangement and/or redundancy of transcription factor binding sites generated by specific U3 sequence duplications are important to the biological events mediated by MCF proviruses integrated near c-myc that contribute to transformation.

Identification of homeodomain proteins, PBX1 and PREP1, involved in the transcription of murine leukemia virus

Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) have been shown to block human immunodeficiency virus and herpes simplex virus. It is hypothesized that CDKIs block viral replication by inhibiting transcription of specific cellular genes. Here we find that three CDKIs, flavopiridol, purvalanol A, and methoxy-roscovitine, block Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) transcription events. Using gene expression microarray technology to examine the inhibitory effects of CDKIs, we observed a cellular gene, the pre-B-cell leukemia transcription factor 1 (Pbx1) gene, down-regulated by CDKI treatment. The PBX consensus element (PCE), TGATTGAC, is conserved in the long terminal repeats of several murine retroviruses, including Moloney MLV. Mutations in the PCE completely inhibited viral transcription whereas overexpression of PBX1 and a PBX1-associated protein, PREP1, enhanced viral transcription. The interaction between the PCE and PBX1-PREP1 proteins was confirmed by gel shift experiments. Blocking PBX1 protein synthesis resulted in a significant decrease in viral transcription. Collectively, our results represent the first work demonstrating that the homeodomain proteins PBX1 and PREP1 are cellular factors involved in Moloney MLV transcription regulation.

What retroviruses teach us about the involvement of c-Myc in leukemias and lymphomas

Overexpression of the cellular oncogene c-Myc frequently occurs during induction of leukemias and lymphomas in many species. Retroviruses have enhanced our understanding of the role of c-Myc in such tumors. Leukemias and lymphomas induced by retroviruses activate c-Myc by: (1) use of virally specified proteins that increase c-Myc transcription, (2) transduction and modification of c-Myc to generate a virally encoded form of the gene, v-Myc, and (3) proviral integration in or near c-Myc. Proviral integrations elevate transcription by insertion of retroviral enhancers found in the long terminal repeat (LTR). Studies of the LTR enhancer elements from these retroviruses have revealed the importance of these elements for c-Mycactivation in several cell types. Retroviruses also have been used to identify genes that collaborate with c-Myc during development and progression of leukemias and lymphomas. In these experiments, animals that are transgenic for c-Mycoverexpression (often in combination with the overexpression or deletion of known proto-oncogenes) have been infected with retroviruses that then insertionally activate novel co-operating cellular genes. The retrovirus then acts as a molecular 'tag' for cloning of these genes. This review covers several aspects of c-Myc involvement in retrovirally induced leukemias and lymphomas.

Ikaros, a lymphoid-cell-specific transcription factor, contributes to the leukemogenic phenotype of a mink cell focus-inducing murine leukemia virus

Mink cell focus-inducing (MCF) viruses induce T-cell lymphomas in AKR/J strain mice. MCF 247, the prototype of this group of nonacute murine leukemia viruses, transforms thymocytes, in part, by insertional mutagenesis and enhancer-mediated dysregulation of cellular proto-oncogenes. The unique 3' (U3) regions in the long terminal repeats of other murine leukemia viruses contain transcription factor binding sites known to be important for enhancer function and for the induction of T-cell lymphomas. Although transcription factor binding sites important for the biological properties of MCF 247 have not been identified, pathogenesis studies from our laboratory suggested to us that binding sites for Ikaros, a lymphoid-cell-restricted transcriptional regulator, affect the biological properties of MCF 247. In this report, we demonstrate that Ikaros binds to predicted sites in U3 sequences of MCF 247 and that site-directed mutations in these sites greatly diminish this binding in vitro. Consistent with these findings, ectopic expression of Ikaros in murine cells that do not normally express this protein significantly increases transcription from the viral promoter in transient gene expression assays. Moreover, site-directed mutations in specific Ikaros-binding sites reduce this activity in T-cell lines that express Ikaros endogenously. To determine whether the Ikaros-binding sites are functional in vivo, we inoculated newborn mice with a variant MCF virus containing a mutant Ikaros-binding site. The variant virus replicated in thymocytes less efficiently and induced lymphomas with a delayed onset compared to the wild-type virus. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Ikaros-binding sites in the U3 region of MCF 247 are functional and cooperate with other DNA elements for optimal enhancer function in vivo.

Suboptimal enhancer sequences are required for efficient bovine leukemia virus propagation in vivo: implications for viral latency

Repression of viral expression is a major strategy developed by retroviruses to escape from the host immune response. The absence of viral proteins (or derived peptides) at the surface of an infected cell does not permit the establishment of an efficient immune attack. Such a strategy appears to have been adopted by animal oncoviruses such as bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV). In BLV-infected animals, only a small fraction of the infected lymphocytes (between 1 in 5,000 and 1 in 50,000) express large amounts of viral proteins; the vast majority of the proviruses are repressed at the transcriptional level. Induction of BLV transcription involves the interaction of the virus-encoded Tax protein with the CREB/ATF factors; the resulting complex is able to interact with three 21-bp Tax-responsive elements (TxRE) located in the 5' long terminal repeat (5' LTR). These TxRE contain cyclic AMP-responsive elements (CRE), but, remarkably, the "TGACGTCA" consensus is never strictly conserved in any viral strain (e.g.,AGACGTCA, TGACGGCA, TGACCTCA). To assess the role of these suboptimal CREs, we introduced a perfect consensus sequence within the TxRE and showed by gel retardation assays that the binding efficiency of the CREB/ATF proteins was increased. However, trans-activation of a luciferase-based reporter by Tax was not affected in transient transfection assays. Still, in the absence of Tax, the basal promoter activity of the mutated LTR was increased as much as 20-fold. In contrast, mutation of other regulatory elements within the LTR (the E box, NF-kappa B, and glucocorticoid- or interferon-responsive sites [GRE or IRF]) did not induce a similar alteration of the basal transcription levels. To evaluate the biological relevance of these observations made in vitro, the mutations were introduced into an infectious BLV molecular clone. After injection into sheep, it appeared that all the recombinants were infectious in vivo and did not revert into a wild-type virus. All of them, except one, propagated at wild-type levels, indicating that viral spread was not affected by the mutation. The sole exception was the CRE mutant; proviral loads were drastically reduced in sheep infected with this type of virus. We conclude that a series of sites (NF-kappa B, IRF, GRE, and the E box) are not required for efficient viral spread in the sheep model, although mutation of some of these motifs might induce a minor phenotype during transient transfection assays in vitro. Remarkably, a provirus (pBLV-Delta 21-bp) harboring only two TxRE was infectious and propagated at wild-type levels. And, most importantly, reconstitution of a consensus CRE, within the 21-bp enhancers increases binding of CREB/ATF proteins but abrogates basal repression of LTR-directed transcription in vitro. Suboptimal CREs are, however, essential for efficient viral spread within infected sheep, although these sites are dispensable for infectivity. These results suggest an evolutionary selection of suboptimal CREs that repress viral expression with escape from the host immune response. These observations, which were obtained in an animal model for HTLV-1, are of interest for oncovirus-induced pathogenesis in humans.

The FeLV-945 LTR confers a replicative advantage dependent on the presence of a tandem triplication

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), like other naturally occurring retroviruses, is characterized by a high degree of genetic diversity. FeLV-945 is a natural isolate derived from non-B-cell non-T-cell lymphomas classified anatomically as multicentric. FeLV-945 exhibits a unique structural motif in the LTR composed of a 21-bp tandem triplication downstream of a single copy of enhancer. The unique FeLV-945 LTR is precisely conserved among eight independent multicentric lymphomas collected in a geographic cluster. Previous studies using reporter gene constructs predict that the FeLV-945 LTR would confer a replicative advantage on the virus that contains it, particularly in primitive hematopoietic cells. Such an advantage may account for the precise conservation of the unique LTR sequence. To test that prediction, a set of recombinant, infectious FeLVs was developed that are isogenic other than the presence of the FeLV-945 LTR or mutations of it. Replication assays show that the FeLV-945 LTR confers a distinct growth advantage in K-562, FEA, and 3201 cells and implicate the 21-bp triplication in that function. Replacement of two copies of the triplicated element with random sequence greatly diminished the replicative capacity, thus implicating the triplicated sequence itself in LTR function. The 21-bp triplication was shown to contain specific nuclear protein binding sites, which may account for the selective pressure to conserve the sequence.