Epstein-Barr virus induction of recombinase-activating genes RAG1 and RAG2

Abstract

In experimental B-cell infections, Epstein-Barr virus induced sustained expression of V(D)J recombinase-activating genes RAG1 and RAG2, whose aberrant activity has been implicated in chromosomal translocations in B-cell neoplasms. In cell lines in which RAG1 and RAG2 were detected, virus integrated into cellular DNA rather than assumed the configuration of extrachromosomal episomes. Expression of the Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 in transient transfection assays was sufficient to induce both recombinase-activating genes.

Mechanism for induction of hydroxyurea resistance and loss of latent EBV genome in hydroxyurea‐treated Burkitt's lymphoma cell line Raji

“…HindIII digested DNA of the Raji clones did not produce comparably different-sized hybridizing fragments (data not shown). Thus, EBV genomes in HU-untreated Raji and -treated Raji clones are not integrated into the host cell DNA through the TR [Delecluse et al, 1993;Srinivas and Sixbey, 1995], and this nonintegrated status is not altered in HU-treated Raji clones.…”

Epstein–Barr virus nuclear antigen 1 is a DNA-binding protein with strong RNA-binding activity

“…EBNA-1 initiates DNA replication at the latent replication origin, oriP, and maintains EBV DNA molecules in cells by binding to a specific DNA sequence in oriP (Middleton & Sugden, 1992). In addition to modulation of EBV latent promoters, transient expression of EBNA-1 is sufficient to induce the recombinase-activating genes RAG1, RAG2 (Srinivas & Sixbey, 1995) and CD25 (interleukin 2 receptor a-chain; Kube et al, 1999) in cell lines. However, the mechanism whereby EBNA-1 regulates the expression of these cellular genes remains unknown.…”

Epstein‐Barr Virus Infection of T Cells: Implications for Altered T‐Lymphocyte Activation, Repertoire Development and Autoimmunity

“…However, non-specific single-stranded binding properties are also a functional property shared with the catalytic regions of Tc element transposases (van Luenen et al 1994). (Jones et al 1992, Srinivas & Sixbey 1995 and T lymphocytes (this work) may reflect shared promoter sequences between the BALF-2 ORF and the RAG sequences.…”

“…Up-regulation of RAG-1 and RAG-2 expression has also been demonstrated in EBV-infected cord blood cells and B-cell lines (Jones ct al. 1992, Srinivas & Sixbey 1995. Others have found that some EBV-transformed B-cell lines demonstrate a high level of expression of RAG-1 and RAG-2 (Kuhn-Hallek et al 1995).…”