title: A steroid hormone response unit in the late leader of the noncoding control region of the human polyomavirus BK confers enhanced host cell permissivity.
abstract: The effect of steroid hormones on multiplication of the human polyomavirus BK (BKV) was studied. Physiological concentrations of the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone, progesterone R5020, or estrogen 17 beta-estradiol enhanced the permissivity of the host cell for BKV, resulting in an up to 11-fold (dexamethasone), 5-fold (progesterone), or 3-fold (17 beta-estradiol) higher virus yield. The increase in virus yield in dexamethasone-stimulated cells correlated with enhanced steady-state levels of viral transcripts. The late leader sequence of the BKV control region contains a hormone response unit composed of a nonconsensus glucocorticoid and/or progesterone response element (GRE/PRE) and a fully consensus estrogen response element (ERE). DNA-protein binding studies showed that the glucocorticoid receptor and the progesterone receptor bound to this BKV GRE/PRE-like sequence, while the estrogen receptor could bind to the BKV ERE motif. By transient transfection assays, we were able to show that these sequences can mediate steroid hormone-induced gene expression. However, no cooperative transactivation effect between the BKV GRE/PRE-like motif and BKV ERE motif was observed. This BKV hormone response unit may play an important role in vivo by enhancing a productive BKV infection, and perhaps also by reactivating a latent infection, during physiological or pathological conditions accompanied by increased steroid hormone levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, University of Tromsøo, Norway.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Moens
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Subramaniam
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Traavik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001739:BK Virus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D001483:Base Sequence; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000187:drug effects*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D013256:Steroids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014709:Vero Cells; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013256:Steroids; D011374:Progesterone; D003907:Dexamethasone