Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus latency-associated nuclear antigen broadly regulates viral gene expression and is essential for lytic infection.

ABSTRACT: Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a leading cause of malignancy in AIDS and current therapies are limited. Like all herpesviruses, KSHV infection can be latent or lytic. KSHV latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) is essential for viral genome persistence during latent infection. LANA also maintains latency by antagonizing expression and function of the KSHV lytic switch protein, RTA. Here, we find LANA null KSHV is not capable of lytic replication, indicating a requirement for LANA. While LANA promoted both lytic and latent gene expression in cells partially permissive for lytic infection, it repressed expression in non-permissive cells. Importantly, forced RTA expression in non-permissive cells led to induction of lytic infection and LANA switched to promote, rather than repress,

SUBMITTER: Li S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10793894 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature