ORF73 of herpesvirus Saimiri strain C488 tethers the viral genome to metaphase chromosomes and binds to cis-acting DNA sequences in the terminal repeats.

ABSTRACT: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), a human oncogenic gamma-2-herpesvirus, transforms human endothelial cells and establishes latent infection at a low efficiency in vitro. During latent infection, only a limited number of genes are expressed, and the circularized viral genome is maintained as a multicopy episome. Latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA), exclusively expressed during latency, has been shown to have a multifunctional role in KS pathogenesis. LANA tethers the viral episome to the host chromosome, thus ensuring efficient persistence of the viral genome during successive rounds of cell division. Besides episome maintenance, LANA modulates the expression of genes of various cellular and viral pathways, including those of retinoblastoma protein and p53. Herpesv

SUBMITTER: Verma SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC262571 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature