The transforming domain alone of the latent membrane protein of Epstein-Barr virus is toxic to cells when expressed at high levels.
A previously unrecognized activity has been associated with the product of the BNLF-1 gene of Epstein-Barr virus. This gene encodes the latent membrane protein of Epstein-Barr virus. When the gene was expressed at high levels, it was toxic to all cell lines tested, which included six human B-lymphoid lines as well as BALB/3T3, 143/EBNA-1, and HEp-2 cells. The BNLF-1 gene was previously shown to induce anchorage-independent and tumorigenic growth in Rat-1 and BALB/3T3 cells. We demonstrate here that only those mutations in the BNLF-1 gene that score positively in the anchorage-independent growth assay were cytotoxic when expressed at high levels. It is therefore possible that the same activities of the latent membrane protein that are necessary to induce anchorage-independent growth of some rodent cell lines also confer toxicity to many cell lines when expressed at high levels.
Hammerschmidt
W
W
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
Sugden
B
B
Baichwal
V R
VR
D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000633:toxicity; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D009154:Mutation; D010957:Plasmids; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins
D000956:Antigens, Viral; C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins