Epstein–Barr virus protein EB2 stimulates cytoplasmic mRNA accumulation by counteracting the deleterious effects of SRp20 on viral mRNAs
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) protein EB2 (also called Mta, SM and BMLF1), is an essential nuclear protein produced during the replicative cycle of EBV. EB2 is required for the efficient cytoplasmic accumulation of viral mRNAs derived from intronless genes. EB2 is an RNA-binding protein whose expression has been shown to influence RNA stability, splicing, nuclear export and translation. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we have identified three SR proteins, SF2/ASF, 9G8 and SRp20, as cellular partners of EB2. Then, by using siRNA to deplete cells of specific SR proteins, we found that SRp20 plays an essential role in the processing of several model mRNAs: the Renilla luciferase reporter mRNA, the human β-globin cDNA transcript and two EBV late mRNAs. These four mRNAs were previously found to be highly dependent on EB2 for their efficient cytoplasmic accumulation. Here, we show that SRp20 depletion results in an increase in the accumulation of these mRNAs, which correlates with an absence of additive effect of EB2, suggesting that EB2 functions by antagonizing SRp20. Moreover, by using RNA-immunoprecipitation assays we found that EB2 enhances the association of SRp20 with the β-globin transcript suggesting that EB2 acts by stabilizing SRp20’s labile interactions with the RNA.
Date Issued
2012-04-13
Date Acceptance
2012-03-23
Citation
Nucleic Acids Research, 2012, 40 (14), pp.6834-6849
ISSN
1362-4962
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
6834
End Page
6849
Journal / Book Title
Nucleic Acids Research
Volume
40
Issue
14
Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subjects
Cell Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Down-Regulation
HEK293 Cells
HeLa Cells
Humans
Luciferases, Renilla
Mutation
Nuclear Proteins
Phosphoproteins
Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
RNA, Messenger
RNA, Viral
RNA-Binding Proteins
Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors
Trans-Activators
Two-Hybrid System Techniques
beta-Globins
Hela Cells
Developmental Biology
05 Environmental Sciences
06 Biological Sciences
08 Information And Computing Sciences
Publication Status
Published