Kaposi s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) latent genomes are tethered to host histones to form a minichromosome also known as an "episome." Histones, which are core components of chromatin, are heavily modified by various histone-targeting enzymes. Posttranslational modifications of histones significantly influence accessibility of transcripti...
Latent Kaposi s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) episomes are coated with viral latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA). In contrast, LANA rapidly disassociates from episomes during reactivation. Lytic KSHV expresses polyadenylated nuclear RNA (PAN RNA), a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). We report that PAN RNA promotes LANA-episome disassociati...
Marek s disease virus (MDV) is a highly pathogenic and oncogenic herpesvirus of chickens. MDV encodes a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) protein, Meq (MDV EcoQ). The bZIP domain of Meq shares homology with Jun/Fos, whereas the transactivation/repressor domain is entirely different. Increasing evidence suggests that Meq is the oncoprotein of MDV. Direct ...
alpha-, beta-, and gamma-Herpesviruses encode putative viral protein kinases. The herpes simplex virus UL13, varicella-zoster virus ORF47, and Epstein-Barr virus BGLF4 genes all show protein kinase domains in their protein sequences. Mutational analysis of these herpesviruses demonstrated that the viral kinase is important for optimal virus growth....
In order to cope with hostile host environments, many viruses have developed strategies to perturb the cellular machinery to suit their replication needs. Some herpesvirus genes protect cells from undergoing apoptosis to prolong the lives of infected cells, while others, such as Epstein-Barr virus Zta, slow down the G(1)/S transition phase to allow...
The prototypic acute phase reactant C-reactive protein (CRP) is not only a marker but also a potential contributor to inflammatory diseases. CRP exists as the circulating native, pentameric CRP (pCRP) and the monomeric isoform (mCRP), formed as a result of a dissociation process of pCRP. mCRP is highly pro-inflammatory, but pCRP is not. The mechani...
Marek s disease virus (MDV) is an acute transforming alphaherpesvirus that causes T-cell lymphomas in chickens. We previously reported the identification of a putative oncogene, meq, that is encoded only by the oncogenic serotype of MDV. The gene product, Meq, is a latent protein that is consistently expressed in MDV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell...
