Denis Avey

Inhibition of cGAS DNA Sensing by a Herpesvirus Virion Protein.

Invading viral DNA can be recognized by the host cytosolic DNA sensor, cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS), resulting in production of the second messenger cGAMP, which directs the adaptor protein STING to stimulate production of type I interferons (IFNs). Although several DNA viruses are sensed by cGAS, viral strategies targeting cGAS are virtually unknown. We report here that Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) ORF52, an abundant gammaherpesvirus-specific tegument protein, subverts cytosolic DNA sensing by directly inhibiting cGAS enzymatic activity through a mechanism involving both cGAS binding and DNA binding. Moreover, ORF52 homologs in other gammaherpesviruses also inhibit cGAS activity and similarly bind cGAS and DNA, suggesting conserved inhibitory mechanisms. Furthermore, KSHV infection evokes cGAS-dependent responses that can limit the infection, and an ORF52 null mutant exhibits increased cGAS signaling. Our findings reveal a mechanism through which gammaherpesviruses antagonize host cGAS DNA sensing.

Activation of p90 Ribosomal S6 Kinases by ORF45 of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Is Critical for Optimal Production of Infectious Viruses

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that ORF45, an immediate-early and tegument protein of Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), causes sustained activation of p90 ribosomal S6 kinases (RSKs) and extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) (E. Kuang, Q. Tang, G. G. Maul, and F. Zhu, J Virol 82:1838–1850, 2008, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.02119-07). We now have identified the critical region of ORF45 that is involved in RSK interaction and activation. Alanine scanning mutagenesis of this region revealed that a single F66A point mutation abolished binding of ORF45 to RSK or ERK and, consequently, its ability to activate the kinases. We introduced the F66A mutation into BAC16 (a bacterial artificial chromosome clone containing the entire infectious KSHV genome), producing BAC16-45F66A. In parallel, we also repaired the mutation and obtained a revertant, BAC16-45A66F. The reconstitution of these mutants in iSLK cells demonstrated that the ORF45-F66A mutant failed to cause sustained ERK and RSK activation during lytic reactivation, resulting in dramatic differences in the phosphoproteomic profile between the wild-type virus-infected cells and the mutant virus-infected cells. ORF45 mutation or deletion also was accompanied by a noticeable decreased in viral gene expression during lytic reactivation. Consequently, the ORF45-F66A mutant produced significantly fewer infectious progeny virions than the wild type or the revertant. These results suggest a critical role for ORF45-mediated RSK activation in KSHV lytic replication. IMPORTANCE KSHV is the causative agent of three human malignancies. KSHV pathogenesis is intimately linked to its ability to modulate the host cell microenvironment and to facilitate efficient production of progeny viral particles. We previously described the mechanism by which the KSHV lytic protein ORF45 activates the cellular kinases ERK and RSK. We now have mapped the critical region of ORF45 responsible for binding and activation of ERK/RSK to a single residue, F66. We mutated this amino acid of ORF45 (F66A) and introduced the mutation into a newly developed bacterial artificial chromosome containing the KSHV genome (BAC16). This system has provided us with a useful tool to characterize the functions of ORF45-activated RSK upon KSHV lytic reactivation. We show that viral gene expression and virion production are significantly reduced by F66A mutation, indicating a critical role for ORF45-activated RSK during KSHV lytic replication.

Phosphoproteomic Analysis of KSHV-Infected Cells Reveals Roles of ORF45-Activated RSK during Lytic Replication.

Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic virus which has adapted unique mechanisms to modulate the cellular microenvironment of its human host. The pathogenesis of KSHV is intimately linked to its manipulation of cellular signaling pathways, including the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. We have previously shown that KSHV ORF45 contributes to the sustained activation of both ERK and p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK, a major functional mediator of ERK/MAPK signaling) during KSHV lytic replication. ORF45-activated RSK is required for optimal KSHV lytic gene expression and progeny virion production, though the underlying mechanisms downstream of this activation are still unclear. We hypothesized that the activation of RSK by ORF45 causes differential phosphorylation of cellular and viral substrates, affecting biological processes essential for efficient KSHV lytic replication. Accordingly, we observed widespread and significant differences in protein phosphorylation upon induction of lytic replication. Mass-spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic screening identified putative substrates of ORF45-activated RSK in KSHV-infected cells. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that nuclear proteins, including several transcriptional regulators, were overrepresented among these candidates. We validated the ORF45/RSK-dependent phosphorylation of several putative substrates by employing KSHV BAC mutagenesis, kinase inhibitor treatments, and/or CRISPR-mediated knockout of RSK in KSHV-infected cells. Furthermore, we assessed the consequences of knocking out these substrates on ORF45/RSK-dependent regulation of gene expression and KSHV progeny virion production. Finally, we show data to support that ORF45 regulates the translational efficiency of a subset of viral/cellular genes with complex secondary structure in their 5’ UTR. Altogether, these data shed light on the mechanisms by which KSHV ORF45 manipulates components of the host cell machinery via modulation of RSK activity. Thus, this study has important implications for the pathobiology of KSHV and other diseases in which RSK activity is dysregulated.

A Survey of the Interactome of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus ORF45 Revealed Its Binding to Viral ORF33 and Cellular USP7, Resulting in Stabilization of ORF33 That Is Required for Production of Progeny Viruses

ABSTRACT The ORF45 protein of Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a gammaherpesvirus-specific immediate-early tegument protein. Our previous studies have revealed its crucial roles in both early and late stages of KSHV infection. In this study, we surveyed the interactome of ORF45 using a panel of monoclonal antibodies. In addition to the previously identified extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) and p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) proteins, we found several other copurified proteins, including prominent ones of ∼38 kDa and ∼130 kDa. Mass spectrometry revealed that the 38-kDa protein is viral ORF33 and the 130-kDa protein is cellular USP7 (ubiquitin-specific protease 7). We mapped the ORF33-binding domain to the highly conserved carboxyl-terminal 19 amino acids (aa) of ORF45 and the USP7-binding domain to the reported consensus motif in the central region of ORF45. Using immunofluorescence staining, we observed colocalization of ORF45 with ORF33 or USP7 both under transfected conditions and in KSHV-infected cells. Moreover, we noticed ORF45-dependent relocalization of a portion of ORF33/USP7 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. We found that ORF45 caused an increase in ORF33 protein accumulation that was abolished if either the ORF33- or USP7-binding domain in ORF45 was deleted. Furthermore, deletion of the conserved carboxyl terminus of ORF45 in the KSHV genome drastically reduced the level of ORF33 protein in KSHV-infected cells and abolished production of progeny virions. Collectively, our results not only reveal new components of the ORF45 interactome, but also demonstrate that the interactions among these proteins are crucial for KSHV lytic replication. IMPORTANCE Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causative agent of several human cancers. KSHV ORF45 is a multifunctional protein that is required for KSHV lytic replication, but the exact mechanisms by which ORF45 performs its critical functions are unclear. Our previous studies revealed that all ORF45 protein in cells exists in high-molecular-weight complexes. We therefore sought to characterize the interactome of ORF45 to provide insights into its roles during lytic replication. Using a panel of monoclonal antibodies, we surveyed the ORF45 interactome in KSHV-infected cells. We identified two new binding partners of ORF45: the viral protein ORF33 and cellular ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7). We further demonstrate that the interaction between ORF45 and ORF33 is crucial for the efficient production of KSHV viral particles, suggesting that the targeted interference with this interaction may represent a novel strategy to inhibit KSHV lytic replication.

ORF33 and ORF38 of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Interact and Are Required for Optimal Production of Infectious Progeny Viruses

ABSTRACT We recently showed that the interaction between Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) tegument proteins ORF33 and ORF45 is crucial for progeny virion production, but the exact functions of KSHV ORF33 during lytic replication were unknown (J. Gillen, W. Li, Q. Liang, D. Avey, J. Wu, F. Wu, J. Myoung, and F. Zhu, J Virol 89:4918–4931, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JVI.02925-14). Therefore, here we investigated the relationship between ORF33 and ORF38, whose counterparts in both alpha- and betaherpesviruses interact with each other. Using specific monoclonal antibodies, we found that both proteins are expressed during the late lytic cycle with similar kinetics and that both are present in mature virions as components of the tegument. Furthermore, we confirmed that ORF33 interacts with ORF38. Interestingly, we observed that ORF33 tightly associates with the capsid, whereas ORF38 associates with the envelope. We generated ORF33-null, ORF38-null, and double-null mutants and found that these mutants apparently have identical phenotypes: the mutations caused no apparent effect on viral gene expression but reduced the yield of progeny virion by about 10-fold. The progeny virions also lack certain virion component proteins, including ORF45. During viral lytic replication, the virions associate with cytoplasmic vesicles. We also observed that ORF38 associates with the membranes of vesicles and colocalizes with the Golgi membrane or early endosome membrane. Further analyses of ORF33/ORF38 mutants revealed the reduced production of virion-containing vesicles, suggesting that ORF33 and ORF38 are involved in the transport of newly assembled viral particles into cytoplasmic vesicles, a process important for viral maturation and egress. IMPORTANCE Herpesvirus assembly is an essential step in virus propagation that leads to the generation of progeny virions. It is a complicated process that depends on the delicate regulation of interactions among virion proteins. We previously revealed an essential role of ORF45-ORF33 binding for virus assembly. Here, we report that ORF33 and its binding partner, ORF38, are required for infectious virus production due to their important role in the tegumentation process. Moreover, we found that both ORF33 and ORF38 are involved in the transportation of virions through vesicles during maturation and egress. Our results provide new insights into the important roles of ORF33 and ORF38 during viral assembly, a process critical for virus propagation that is intimately linked to KSHV pathobiology.

Discovery of a Coregulatory Interaction between Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus ORF45 and the Viral Protein Kinase ORF36

ABSTRACT Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causative agent of three human malignancies. KSHV ORF36 encodes a serine/threonine viral protein kinase, which is conserved throughout all herpesviruses. Although several studies have identified the viral and cellular substrates of conserved herpesvirus protein kinases (CHPKs), the precise functions of KSHV ORF36 during lytic replication remain elusive. Here, we report that ORF36 interacts with another lytic protein, ORF45, in a manner dependent on ORF36 kinase activity. We mapped the regions of ORF36 and ORF45 involved in the binding. Their association appears to be mediated by electrostatic interactions, since deletion of either the highly basic N terminus of ORF36 or an acidic patch of ORF45 abolished the binding. In addition, the dephosphorylation of ORF45 protein dramatically reduced its association with ORF36. Importantly, ORF45 enhances both the stability and kinase activity of ORF36. Consistent with previous studies of CHPK homologs, we detected ORF36 protein in extracellular virions. To investigate the roles of ORF36 in the context of KSHV lytic replication, we used bacterial artificial chromosome mutagenesis to engineer both ORF36-null and kinase-dead mutants. We found that ORF36-null/mutant virions are moderately defective in viral particle production and are further deficient in primary infection. In summary, our results uncover a functionally important interaction between ORF36 and ORF45 and indicate a significant role of ORF36 in the production of infectious progeny virions. IMPORTANCE Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus with a significant public health burden. KSHV ORF36 encodes a serine/threonine viral protein kinase, whose functions throughout the viral life cycle have not been elucidated. Here, we report that ORF36 interacts with another KSHV protein, ORF45. We mapped the regions of ORF36 and ORF45 involved in their association and further characterized the consequences of this interaction. We engineered ORF36 mutant viruses in order to investigate the functional roles of ORF36 in the context of KSHV lytic replication, and we confirmed that ORF36 is a component of KSHV virions. Moreover, we found that ORF36 mutants are defective in virion production and primary infection. In summary, we discovered and characterized a functionally important interaction between KSHV ORF36 and ORF45, and our results suggest a significant role of ORF36 in the production of infectious progeny virions, a process critical for KSHV pathogenesis.

Recent advances in the study of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus replication and pathogenesis

It has now been over twenty years since a novel herpesviral genome was identified in Kaposi’s sarcoma biopsies. Since then, the cumulative research effort by molecular biologists, virologists, clinicians, and epidemiologists alike has led to the extensive characterization of this tumor virus, Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV; also known as human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)), and its associated diseases. Here we review the current knowledge of KSHV biology and pathogenesis, with a particular emphasis on new and exciting advances in the field of epigenetics. We also discuss the development and practicality of various cell culture and animal model systems to study KSHV replication and pathogenesis.

Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Inhibitor of cGAS (KicGAS), Encoded by ORF52, Is an Abundant Tegument Protein and Is Required for Production of Infectious Progeny Viruses.

ABSTRACT Although Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) ORF52 (also known as KSHV inhibitor of cGAS [KicGAS]) has been detected in purified virions, the roles of this protein during KSHV replication have not been characterized. Using specific monoclonal antibodies, we revealed that ORF52 displays true late gene expression kinetics and confirmed its cytoplasmic localization in both transfected and KSHV-infected cells. We demonstrated that ORF52 comigrates with other known virion proteins following sucrose gradient centrifugation. We also determined that ORF52 resides inside the viral envelope and remains partially associated with capsid when extracellular virions are treated with various detergents and/or salts. There results indicate that ORF52 is a tegument protein abundantly present in extracellular virions. To characterize the roles of ORF52 in the KSHV life cycle, we engineered a recombinant KSHV ORF52-null mutant virus and found that loss of ORF52 results in reduced virion production and a further defect in infectivity. Upon analysis of the virion composition of ORF52-null viral particles, we observed a decrease in the incorporation of ORF45, as well as other tegument proteins, suggesting that ORF52 is important for the packaging of other virion proteins. In summary, our results indicate that, in addition to its immune evasion function, KSHV ORF52 is required for the optimal production of infectious virions, likely due to its roles in virion assembly as a tegument protein. IMPORTANCE The tegument proteins of herpesviruses, including Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), play key roles in the viral life cycle. Each of the three subfamilies of herpesviruses (alpha, beta, and gamma) encode unique tegument proteins with specialized functions. We recently found that one such gammaherpesvirus-specific protein, ORF52, has an important role in immune evasion during KSHV primary infection, through inhibition of the host cytosolic DNA sensing pathway. In this report, we further characterize ORF52 as a tegument protein with vital roles during KSHV lytic replication. We found that ORF52 is important for the production of infectious viral particles, likely through its role in virus assembly, a critical process for KSHV replication and pathogenesis. More comprehensive investigation of the functions of tegument proteins and their roles in viral replication may reveal novel targets for therapeutic interventions against KSHV-associated diseases.

ORF45-mediated prolonged c-Fos accumulation accelerates viral transcription during the late stage of lytic replication of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

ABSTRACT Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes multiple viral proteins that activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)–mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. One of these viral proteins, ORF45, mediates sustained ERK-p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) activation during KSHV lytic replication and facilitates viral translation through the phosphorylation of a eukaryotic translation initiation factor, eIF4B. The importance of ERK-RSK activation for KSHV viral transcription has been shown; however, which transcription factor senses the sustained MAPK signaling and leads to viral transcription remains poorly understood. Here we show that the presence of ORF45 leads to the prolonged accumulation of c-Fos during the late stage of KSHV lytic replication through ERK-RSK-dependent phosphorylation and stabilization and that the depletion of c-Fos disrupts viral lytic transcription. Genome-wide screening revealed that c-Fos directly binds to multiple viral gene promoters and enhances viral transcription. Mutation of the ERK-RSK phosphorylation sites of c-Fos restrains KSHV lytic gene expression and virion production. These results indicate that the prolonged accumulation of c-Fos promotes the progression of viral transcription from early to late stages and accelerates viral lytic replication upon sustained ORF45-ERK-RSK activation during the KSHV lytic life cycle. IMPORTANCE During KSHV lytic replication, transient activation and sustained activation of ERK-RSK induce viral immediate early (IE) transcription and late transcription, respectively. Studies have revealed that ERK-RSK activates several transcription factors involved in IE gene expression, including Ets, AP-1, CREB, and C/EBP, which lead to the transient ERK-RSK activation-dependent IE transcription. Whereas c-Fos acts as a sensor of sustained ERK-RSK activation, ORF45-ERK-RSK signaling mediates c-Fos phosphorylation and accumulation during late KSHV lytic replication, consequently promoting viral transcription through the direct binding of c-Fos to multiple KSHV promoters. This finding indicates that c-Fos mediates distinct viral transcriptional progression following sustained ERK-RSK signaling during the KSHV lytic life cycle.

Hierarchical regulation of the genome: global changes in nucleosome organization potentiate genome response

Nucleosome occupancy is critically important in regulating access to the eukaryotic genome. Few studies in human cells have measured genome-wide nucleosome distributions at high temporal resolution during a response to a common stimulus. We measured nucleosome distributions at high temporal resolution following Kaposis-sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) reactivation using our newly developed mTSS-seq technology, which maps nucleosome distribution at the transcription start sites (TSS) of all human genes. Nucleosomes underwent widespread changes in organization 24 hours after KSHV reactivation and returned to their basal nucleosomal architecture 48 hours after KSHV reactivation. The widespread changes consisted of an indiscriminate remodeling event resulting in the loss of nucleosome rotational phasing signals. Additionally, one in six TSSs in the human genome possessed nucleosomes that are translationally remodeled. 72% of the loci with translationally remodeled nucleosomes have nucleosomes that moved to positions encoded by the underlying DNA sequence. Finally we demonstrated that these widespread alterations in nucleosomal architecture potentiated regulatory factor binding. These descriptions of nucleosomal architecture changes provide a new framework for understanding the role of chromatin in the genomic response, and have allowed us to propose a hierarchical model for chromatin-based regulation of genome response.