Shane C. McAllister

Novel Cellular Genes Essential for Transformation of Endothelial Cells by Kaposi's Sarcoma–Associated Herpesvirus

Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is involved in the development of lymphoproliferative diseases and Kaposis sarcoma. The oncogenicity of this virus is reflected in vitro by its ability to transform B cells and endothelial cells. Infection of dermal microvascular endothelial cells (DMVEC) transforms the cells from a cobblestone-like monolayer to foci-forming spindle cells. This transformation is accompanied by dramatic changes in the cellular transcriptome. Known oncogenes, such as c-Kit, are among the KSHV-induced host genes. We previously showed that c-Kit is an essential cellular component of the KSHV-mediated transformation of DMVEC. Here, we test the hypothesis that the transformation process can be used to discover novel oncogenes. When expression of a panel of KSHV-induced cellular transcripts was inhibited with antisense oligomers, we observed inhibition of DMVEC proliferation and foci formation using antisense molecules to RDC1 and Neuritin. We further showed that transformation of KSHV-infected DMVEC was inhibited by small interfering RNA directed at RDC1 or Neuritin. Ectopic expression of Neuritin in NIH 3T3 cells resulted in changes in cell morphology and anchorage-independent growth, whereas RDC1 ectopic expression significantly increased cell proliferation. In addition, both RDC1- and Neuritin-expressing cells formed tumors in nude mice. RDC1 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor, whereas Neuritin is a growth-promoting protein known to mediate neurite outgrowth. Neither gene has been previously implicated in tumorigenesis. Our data suggest that KSHV-mediated transformation involves exploitation of the hitherto unrealized oncogenic properties of RDC1 and Neuritin.

STAT3 interrupts ATR-Chk1 signaling to allow oncovirus-mediated cell proliferation

Significance DNA replication is error-prone. Mechanisms to recognize errors in DNA lead to arrest of cell proliferation at various checkpoints to allow for repair. Suppression of these mechanisms is necessary for recovery from these checkpoints and continuation of cell division. We show that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), a protein overactive in many human cancers, can abnormally evade recognition of DNA errors and damage leading to bypass of a critical cell-cycle checkpoint and uncontrolled cell proliferation. While relevant to understanding cancer development and prevention, this will also bring fresh insights into the role of STAT3 in the central biology of cell proliferation, particularly since STAT3 is necessary for critical processes including embryonic development and immunity. DNA damage response (DDR) is a signaling network that senses DNA damage and activates response pathways to coordinate cell-cycle progression and DNA repair. Thus, DDR is critical for maintenance of genome stability, and presents a powerful defense against tumorigenesis. Therefore, to drive cell-proliferation and transformation, viral and cellular oncogenes need to circumvent DDR-induced cell-cycle checkpoints. Unlike in hereditary cancers, mechanisms that attenuate DDR and disrupt cell-cycle checkpoints in sporadic cancers are not well understood. Using Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) as a source of oncogenes, we have previously shown that EBV-driven cell proliferation requires the cellular transcription factor STAT3. EBV infection is rapidly followed by activation and increased expression of STAT3, which mediates relaxation of the intra-S phase cell-cycle checkpoint; this facilitates viral oncogene-driven cell proliferation. We now show that replication stress-associated DNA damage, which results from EBV infection, is detected by DDR. However, signaling downstream of ATR is impaired by STAT3, leading to relaxation of the intra-S phase checkpoint. We find that STAT3 interrupts ATR-to-Chk1 signaling by promoting loss of Claspin, a protein that assists ATR to phosphorylate Chk1. This loss of Claspin which ultimately facilitates cell proliferation is mediated by caspase 7, a protein that typically promotes cell death. Our findings demonstrate how STAT3, which is constitutively active in many human cancers, suppresses DDR, fundamental to tumorigenesis. This newly recognized role for STAT3 in attenuation of DDR, discovered in the context of EBV infection, is of broad interest as the biology of cell proliferation is central to both health and disease.

A broad-spectrum antifungal from the marine sponge Hyrtios erecta

Spongistatin 1, a macrocyclic lactone polyether from the marine sponge Hyrtios erecta, was fungicidal for a variety of opportunistic yeasts and filamentous fungi, including strains resistant to amphotericin B, ketoconazole and flucytosine. In broth macrodilution assays, MICs ranged from 0.195 to 12.5 microg/ml, and minimum fungicidal concentrations ranged from 3.12 to 25 microg/ml. Initial disk diffusion screens with six related macrocyclic lactone polyethers from H. erecta and Spirastrella spinispirulifera, revealed that these polyethers were also antifungal. The fungicidal activity of spongistatin 1 was confirmed in killing kinetics studies, where killing of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans occurred within 6 and 12 h, respectively. During the killing kinetics experiments, non-treated C. albicans maintained the yeast morphology. However, elongated forms resembling germ tubes were the predominant morphologic form in spongistatin 1-treated C. albicans cultures. The spongistatins show promise as potential antifungal agents and as probes to study fungal morphogenesis and nuclear division.

Endothelial Cell- and Lymphocyte-Based In Vitro Systems for Understanding KSHV Biology

Kaposi sarcoma (KS), the most common AIDS-associated malignancy, is a multifocal tumor characterized by deregulated angiogenesis, proliferation of spindle cells, and extravasation of inflammatory cells and erythrocytes. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV; also human herpesvirus-8) is implicated in all clinical forms of KS. Endothelial cells (EC) harbor the KSHV genome in vivo, are permissive for virus infection in vitro, and are thought to be the precursors of KS spindle cells. Spindle cells are rare in early patch-stage KS lesions but become the predominant cell type in later plaque- and nodular-stage lesions. Alterations in endothelial/spindle cell physiology that promote proliferation and survival are thus thought to be important in disease progression and may represent potential therapeutic targets. KSHV encodes genes that stimulate cellular proliferation and migration, prevent apoptosis, and counter the host immune response. The combined effect of these genes is thought to drive the proliferation and survival of infected spindle cells and influence the lesional microenvironment. Large-scale gene expression analyses have revealed that KSHV infection also induces dramatic reprogramming of the EC transcriptome. These changes in cellular gene expression likely contribute to the development of the KS lesion. In addition to KS, KSHV is also present in B cell neoplasias including primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman disease. A combination of virus and virus-induced host factors are similarly thought to contribute to establishment and progression of these malignancies. A number of lymphocyte- and EC-based systems have been developed that afford some insight into the means by which KSHV contributes to malignant transformation of host cells. Whereas KSHV is well maintained in PEL cells cultured in vitro, explanted spindle cells rapidly lose the viral episome. Thus, endothelial cell-based systems for studying KSHV gene expression and function, as well as the effect of infection on host cell physiology, have required in vitro infection of primary or life-extended EC. This chapter includes a review of these in vitro cell culture systems, acknowledging their strengths and weaknesses and putting into perspective how each has contributed to our understanding of the complex KS lesional environment. In addition, we present a model of KS lesion progression based on findings culled from these models as well as recent clinical advances in KS chemotherapy. Thus this unifying model describes our current understanding of KS pathogenesis by drawing together multiple theories of KS progression that by themselves cannot account for the complexities of tumor development.

Increased Efficiency of Phorbol Ester-Induced Lytic Reactivation of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus during S Phase

ABSTRACT Expression of Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) lytic genes is thought to be essential for the establishment and progression of KSHV-induced diseases. The inefficiency of lytic reactivation in various in vitro systems hampers the study of lytic genes in the context of whole virus. We report here increased expression of KSHV lytic genes and increased release of progeny virus when synchronized cultures of body cavity-based lymphoma-1 cells are treated with a phorbol ester during S phase of the cell cycle.

Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

Infection of B cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to proliferation and subsequent immortalization, resulting in establishment of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) in vitro. Since LCL are latently infected with EBV, they provide a model system to investigate EBV latency and virus-driven B cell proliferation and tumorigenesis1. LCL have been used to present antigens in a variety of immunologic assays2, 3. In addition, LCL can be used to generate human monoclonal antibodies4, 5 and provide a potentially unlimited source when access to primary biologic materials is limited6, 7. A variety of methods have been described to generate LCL. Earlier methods have included the use of mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin, lipopolysaccharide8, and pokeweed mitogen9 to increase the efficiency of EBV-mediated immortalization. More recently, others have used immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporin A to inhibit T cell-mediated killing of infected B cells7, 10-12. The considerable length of time from EBV infection to establishment of cell lines drives the requirement for quicker and more reliable methods for EBV-driven B cell growth transformation. Using a combination of high titer EBV and an immunosuppressive agent, we are able to consistently infect, transform, and generate LCL from B cells in peripheral blood. This method uses a small amount of peripheral blood mononuclear cells that are infected in vitroclusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23 with EBV in the presence of FK506, a T cell immunosuppressant. Traditionally, outgrowth of proliferating B cells is monitored by visualization of microscopic clusters of cells about a week after infection with EBV. Clumps of LCL can be seen by the naked eye after several weeks. We describe an assay to determine early if EBV-mediated growth transformation is successful even before microscopic clusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23hiCD58+ cells observed as early as three days post-infection indicates a successful outcome.

Response of gonococcal clinical isolates to acidic conditions

This study examined the response to acidic conditions of four gonococcal isolates -NRL38874 (Proto/IB-2), NRL38884 (Pro/IA-2), NRL38953 (Proto/IB-3) and NRL39029 (Pro/IA-3) - obtained from various sites in patients in whom a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease had been made by laparoscopic examination. Acid tolerance of the clinical isolates was strain and growth phase dependent. Growth of the four strains on solid media was undetectable below pH 5.8. In liquid culture, strain NRL38884 did not survive below pH 5.2; strains NRL38874, NRL38953 and NRL39029 survived to pH 4.5. Between pH 4.2 and pH 5.1, the latter three strains exhibited a peak in survival at pH 4.6-4.7 during log phase, suggesting that there may be a distinct acid tolerance system operating at this pH. SDS-PAGE of whole-cell, total membrane and outer-membrane fractions of the four strains prepared from pH 7.2 and pH 6.1 plate cultures revealed numerous differences in protein composition. Acidic conditions reduced the expression of the reduction modifiable outer-membrane protein Rmp, and induced the expression of many membrane proteins, including gonococcal hsp63. Immunoblotting studies with matched serum samples and strains from patients with pelvic inflammatory disease indicated that IgG recognition of outer-membrane components from strains cultured in acidic and neutral conditions was quite different. The results suggest that the immune system interacts with unique outer-membrane constituents on gonococci colonising sites at different pH.

Epidemic 2014 Enterovirus D68 Cross-Reacts with Human Rhinovirus on a Respiratory Molecular Diagnostic Platform

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is an emerging virus known to cause sporadic disease and occasional epidemics of severe lower respiratory tract infection. However, the true prevalence of infection with EV-D68 is unknown, due in part to the lack of a rapid and specific nucleic acid amplification test as well as the infrequency with which respiratory samples are analyzed by enterovirus surveillance programs. During the 2014 EV-D68 epidemic in the United States, we noted an increased frequency of “low-positive” results for human rhinovirus (HRV) detected in respiratory tract samples using the GenMark Diagnostics eSensor respiratory viral panel, a multiplex PCR assay able to detect 14 known respiratory viruses but not enteroviruses. We simultaneously noted markedly increased admissions to our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for severe lower respiratory tract infections in patients both with and without a history of reactive airway disease. Accordingly, we hypothesized that these “low-positive” RVP results were due to EV-D68 rather than rhinovirus infection. Sequencing of the picornavirus 5’ untranslated region (5’-UTR) of 49 samples positive for HRV by the GenMark RVP revealed that 33 (67.3%) were in fact EV-D68. Notably, the mean intensity of the HRV RVP result was significantly lower in the sequence-identified EV-D68 samples (20.3 nA) compared to HRV (129.7 nA). Using a cut-off of 40 nA for the differentiation of EV-D68 from HRV resulted in 94% sensitivity and 88% specificity. The robust diagnostic characteristics of our data suggest that the cross-reactivity of EV-D68 and HRV on the GenMark Diagnostics eSensor RVP platform may be an important factor to consider in making accurate molecular diagnosis of EV-D68 at institutions utilizing this system or other molecular respiratory platforms that may also cross-react.

Interferon-γ Influences the Composition of Leukocytic Infiltrates in Murine Lyme Carditis

Interferon (IFN)-γ is present in lesions of patients with Lyme disease and positively correlates with the severity of manifestations. To investigate the role of IFNγ in the development of Lyme carditis, wild-type and IFNγ-deficient C57BL/6 mice were infected with the causative bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. Histological analysis revealed no change in the severity of carditis between wild-type and IFNγ-deficient mice at 14, 21, 25, and 28 days after infection. However, a distinct shift in the types of leukocytes within the hearts of IFNγ-deficient mice was observed at 25 days. In the absence of IFNγ, the number of neutrophils in the heart was increased, whereas the number of T lymphocytes was decreased. Bacterial loads within hearts were the same as in wild-type mice. Macrophages secrete chemokines that recruit immune cells, which could contribute to the accumulation of leukocytes in murine Lyme carditis. The ability of IFNγ and B. burgdorferi to activate murine macrophages was examined, and the two stimuli synergistically induced chemoattractants for mononuclear cells (ie, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL16, and CCL12) and decreased those for neutrophils (ie, CXCL1, CXCL2, and CXCL3). IFNγ and B. burgdorferi also synergistically enhanced secretion of CXCL9 and CXCL10 by murine cardiac endothelial cells. These results indicate that IFNγ influences the composition of inflammatory infiltrates in Lyme carditis by promoting the accumulation of leukocytes associated with chronic inflammation and suppressing that of cells that typify acute inflammation.

Functional genomics and the development of pathogenesis-targeted therapies for Kaposi’s sarcoma

Kaposis sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal angioproliferative disorder affecting the skin, mucosa and viscera of individuals infected with human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8; also Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus [KSHV]). KS is the most common neoplasm in AIDS patients; the clinical outcome of AIDS-KS is significantly improved by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). However, in Africa, where the severest manifestations of KS occur, there is limited access to these and other effective but expensive drugs. Here we present a review of current efforts to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of KS using functional genomics, with recommendations regarding the development of economically feasible treatments for use in Africa.