title: Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) half-life in epithelial cells is down-regulated by lytic LMP-1.
abstract: This study examined the effect of naturally occurring Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) gene sequence variation on the LMP-1 half-life in epithelial cells. The LMP-1 half-life was not influenced by sequence variation in amino acids 250 to 307 or amino acids 343 to 352. The LMP-1 half-life was short when the amino acid encoded at position 129 was methionine, the initiation codon product of lytic LMP-1 (lyLMP-1). The mutation of amino acid 129 to isoleucine greatly increased the LMP-1 half-life. Expression of lyLMP-1 in trans down-regulated the LMP-1 half-life in a dose-dependent manner and restored a short-half-life phenotype to the mutated LMP-1 construct lacking the cis ability to express lyLMP-1. This observed dominant negative effect of lyLMP-1 expression on the LMP-1 half-life in epithelial cells in vitro may have implications for EBV epithelial oncogenesis in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0435, USA.
authors.forename: Jyotsna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pandya
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walling
mesh_terms: D015536:Down-Regulation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins