title: A Bcl-2 homolog encoded by Kaposi sarcoma-associated virus, human herpesvirus 8, inhibits apoptosis but does not heterodimerize with Bax or Bak.
abstract: The Bcl-2 protein family is characterized by the ability to modulate cell death, and members of this family share two highly conserved domains called Bcl-2 homology 1 (BH1) and 2 (BH2) which have been shown to be critical for the death-repressor activity of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Through sequence analysis we identified a novel viral Bcl-2 homolog, designated KSbcl-2, from human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) or Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. The overall amino acid sequence identity between KSbcl-2 and other Bcl-2 homologs is low (15-20%) but concentrated within the BH1 and BH2 regions. Overexpression of KSbcl-2 blocked apoptosis as efficiently as Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, or another viral Bcl-2 homolog encoded by Epstein-Barr virus, BHRF1. Interestingly, KS-bcl-2 neither homodimerizes nor heterodimerizes with other Bcl-2 family members, suggesting that KSbcl-2 may have evolved to escape any negative regulatory effects of the cellular Bax and Bak proteins. Furthermore, the herpesvirus Bcl-2 homologs including KSbcl-2, BHRF1, and ORF16 of herpesvirus saimiri contain poorly conserved Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH3) domains compared with other mammalian Bcl-2 homologs, implying that BH3 may not be essential for anti-apoptotic function. This is consistent with our observation that amino acid substitutions within the BH3 domain of Bcl-xL had no effect on its death-suppressor activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Bellows
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Hayward
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Reitz
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hardwick
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017209:Apoptosis; D005814:Genes, Viral; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics*; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012845:Sindbis Virus; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014779:Virus Replication; D050998:bcl-2 Homologous Antagonist-Killer Protein; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein
chemical_list: C494772:BAK1 protein, human; C494826:BAX protein, human; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014764:Viral Proteins; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins; D050998:bcl-2 Homologous Antagonist-Killer Protein; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein