AP-1 homolog BZLF1 of Epstein-Barr virus has two essential functions dependent on the epigenetic state of the viral genome.

ABSTRACT: EBV, a member of the herpes virus family, is a paradigm for human tumor viruses and a model of viral latency amenable for study in vitro. It induces resting human B lymphocytes to proliferate indefinitely in vitro and initially establishes a strictly latent infection in these cells. BZLF1, related to the cellular activating protein 1 (AP-1) family of transcription factors, is the viral master gene essential and sufficient to mediate the switch to induce the EBV lytic phase in latently infected B cells. Enigmatically, after infection BZLF1 is expressed very early in the majority of primary B cells, but its early expression fails to induce the EBV lytic phase. We show that the early expression of BZLF1 has a critical role in driving the proliferation of quiescent naïve and memory B cells but

SUBMITTER: Kalla M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2818922 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature