Canonical NF-kB Activation is Essential for Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Membrane Protein 1 TES2/CTAR2 Gene Regulation.

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Latent Membrane Protein 1 (LMP1) transforms rodent fibroblasts and is expressed in most EBV-associated malignancies. LMP1 Transformation Effector Site 2 (TES2)/C-Terminal Activation Region 2 (CTAR2) activates NF-kappaB, p38, JNK, ERK and IRF7 pathways. We have investigated LMP1 TES2 genome-wide RNA effects at 4 time points after LMP1 TES2 expression in HEK 293 cells. Using a False Discovery Rate (FDR) of < 0.001 after correction for multiple hypotheses, LMP1 TES2 caused > 2-fold changes in 1916 mRNAs; 1479 RNAs were up-regulated and 437 down-regulated. In contrast to TNFalpha stimulation, which transiently up-regulates many target genes, LMP1 TES2 maintained most RNA effects through the time course, despite robust and sustained induction of negative feedback regulators, such as IkappaBalpha and A20. LMP1 TES2 regulated RNAs encode many NF-kappaB signaling proteins and secondary interacting proteins. Consequently, many LMP1 TES2-regulated RNAs encode proteins that form an extensive interactome. Gene Set Enrichment Analyses found LMP1 TES2 up-regulated genes to be significantly enriched for Pathways in Cancer, B-and T-cell receptor signaling, and Toll-like receptor signaling. Surprisingly, LMP1 TES2 and IkappaBalpha super-repressor co-expression decreased LMP1 TES2 RNA effects to only 5 RNAs with FDR<0.001 and >2 fold change. Thus, canonical NF-kappaB activation is critical for almost all LMP1 TES2 RNA effects in HEK-293 cells and a more significant therapeutic target than previously appreciated.

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Gewurz BE, Mar JC, Padi M, Zhao B, Shinners NP, Takasaki K, Bedoya E, Zou JY, Cahir-McFarland E, Quackenbush J, Kieff E