Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus K-bZIP represses gene transcription via SUMO modification.

ABSTRACT: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human gammaherpesvirus implicated in AIDS-related neoplasms. Previously, we demonstrated that the early lytic gene product K-bZIP is a transcriptional repressor that affects a subset of viral gene transcriptions mediated by the viral transactivator K-Rta (Y. Izumiya et al. J. Virol. 77:1441-1451, 2003). Sumoylation has emerged as an important posttranslational modification that affects the location and function of cellular and viral proteins and also plays a significant role in transcriptional repression along with Ubc9, the E2 SUMO conjugation enzyme. Here, we provide evidence that K-bZIP is sumoylated at the lysine 158 residue and associates with Ubc9 both in a cell-free system and in virus-infected BCBL-1 cells. Reporter assays showed

SUBMITTER: Izumiya Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1181544 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature