title: Human herpesvirus 7 open reading frame U12 encodes a functional beta-chemokine receptor.
abstract: Human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7), which belongs to the betaherpesvirus subfamily, infects mainly CD4+ T cells in vitro and infects children during infancy. After the primary infection, HHV-7 becomes latent. HHV-7 contains two genes (U12 and U51) that encode putative homologs of cellular G-protein-coupled receptors. To analyze the biological function of the U12 gene, we cloned the gene and expressed the U12 protein in cells. The U12 gene encoded a calcium-mobilizing receptor for the EBI1 ligand chemokine-macrophage inflammatory protein 3beta (ELC/MIP-3beta) but not for other chemokines, suggesting that the chemokine selectivity of the U12 gene product is distinct from that of the known mammalian chemokine receptors. These studies revealed that U12 activates distinct transmembrane signaling pathways that may mediate biological functions by binding with a beta-chemokine, ELC/MIP-3beta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology C1, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tadagaki
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Isegawa
authors.forename: Mya Mya
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Aye
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamanishi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D054415:Chemokine CCL19; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016199:Herpesvirus 7, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: C515460:CCL19 protein, human; D054415:Chemokine CCL19; D019742:Chemokines, CC; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine