title: Fidelity of target site duplication and sequence preference during integration of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus.
abstract: Xenotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV)-related virus (XMRV) is a new human retrovirus associated with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. The causal relationship of XMRV infection to human disease and the mechanism of pathogenicity have not been established. During retrovirus replication, integration of the cDNA copy of the viral RNA genome into the host cell chromosome is an essential step and involves coordinated joining of the two ends of the linear viral DNA into staggered sites on target DNA. Correct integration produces proviruses that are flanked by a short direct repeat, which varies from 4 to 6 bp among the retroviruses but is invariant for each particular retrovirus. Uncoordinated joining of the two viral DNA ends into target DNA can cause insertions, deletions, or other genomic alterations at the integration site. To determine the fidelity of XMRV integration, cells infected with XMRV were clonally expanded and DNA sequences at the viral-host DNA junctions were determined and analyzed. We found that a majority of the provirus ends were correctly processed and flanked by a 4-bp direct repeat of host DNA. A weak consensus sequence was also detected at the XMRV integration sites. We conclude that integration of XMRV DNA involves a coordinated joining of two viral DNA ends that are spaced 4 bp apart on the target DNA and proceeds with high fidelity.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Interdepartmental Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sanggu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rusmevichientong
authors.forename: Beihua
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Remenyi
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.forename: Samson A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000821:virology; D016662:Virus Integration / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral