Identification of an Epstein-Barr virus-coded thymidine kinase.
We have demonstrated the presence of an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-coded thymidine kinase (TK) by producing biochemically transformed, TK-positive mammalian cell lines using either microinjection of whole EBV virions or calcium phosphate-mediated transfection of the SalI-B restriction endonuclease fragment of EBV DNA. Analysis of these cell lines showed that: (i) EBV DNA was present in the cell lines, (ii) sequences from the SalI-B restriction endonuclease fragment of EBV were expressed, (iii) a TK activity was present and (iv) a protein with antigenic cross-reactivity with the herpes simplex virus (HSV) TK was produced. The identity of the EBV TK gene was determined by demonstrating that a recombinant plasmid, which expressed the protein product of the BXLF1 open reading frame as a fusion protein, could complement TK- strains of E. coli. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of the TK proteins of EBV and HSV-1 revealed significant regions of homology.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005796:Genes; D005814:Genes, Viral; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010957:Plasmids; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection
D004279:DNA, Viral; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes