title: The Epstein Barr nuclear antigen EBNA3C regulates transcription, cell transformation and cell migration.
abstract: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects most of the human population and persists in B-lymphocytes for the lifetime of the host. During the establishment of latent infection a unique repertoire of genes are expressed. The EBV nuclear antigen EBNA3C is essential for growth transformation of primary B-lymphocytes in vitro. EBNA3C regulates the transcription of a number of viral and cellular genes important for the immortalization process. Interaction of EBNA3C with the cellular transcription factor RBP-Jkappa and HDAC1 modulates transcriptional activation. Additionally, EBNA3C disrupts the cyclin/cdk-Rb-E2F pathway that regulates cell cycle progression through the restriction point at G1. Recent studies showed that the carboxy terminal region of EBNA3C from aa 366-992, essential for the immortalization of primary B-cells, interacts with Prothymosin(alpha) (ProTalpha) and Nm23-H1. The interaction of EBNA3C with ProTalpha as well as the histone acetylase p300 suggested a possible role in modulation of histone acetylation and chromatin remodeling. Cell migration assays geared towards determining the effect of EBNA3C on Nm23-H1 antimetastatic function suggests that EBNA3C suppresses the effects of NM23-H1 on the motility of breast carcinoma as well as Burkitt's lymphoma cells. This observation suggests that EBNA3C may be involved in driving the metastatic process in EBV associated human malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Chitra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Jason S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Erle S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Robertson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral / Q000502:physiology*; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens