Role of cellular kinases in the gene expression of nonsegmented negative strand RNA viruses.
Nonsegmented negative strand RNA viruses package an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase composed of two subunits, a large protein L and a phosphoprotein P, for transcription and replication of their genome RNAs. The RNA polymerase activity resides within the L protein, while the P protein acts as a transcription factor or transactivator of the polymerase. Since P protein is heavily phosphorylated and phosphorylation is known to regulate function of many viral as well as cellular proteins, the role of phosphorylation of P protein in the gene expression of this group of RNA viruses has recently been investigated. Through expression in bacteria the P protein was produced in large quantity in the nonphosphorylated form and involvement of cellular kinase(s) in its phosphorylation was studied. Casein kinase II and/or protein kinase C have been shown to play a critical role in the activation of P protein in transcription. These findings have opened up a new avenue for studying an important regulatory step in virus gene expression that may lead to the development of an effective antiviral agent.
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Department of Molecular Biology, Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH 44195, USA.
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Banerjee
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D000818:Animals; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D006801:Humans; D010252:Paramyxoviridae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D012209:Rhabdoviridae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
D010770:Phosphotransferases