Human cytomegalovirus latent infection and associated viral gene expression

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Slobedman ◽  
John Z Cao ◽  
Selmir Avdic ◽  
Bradley Webster ◽  
Samantha McAllery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Latent Infection ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Viral Gene

scholarly journals Defining the Transcriptional Landscape during Cytomegalovirus Latency with Single-Cell RNA Sequencing

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miri Shnayder ◽  
Aharon Nachshon ◽  
Benjamin Krishna ◽  
Emma Poole ◽  
Alina Boshkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Latent Infection ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Gene Expression Program ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Expression Program ◽  
Transcriptional Landscape ◽  
Qualitative Changes

ABSTRACTPrimary infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) results in a lifelong infection due to its ability to establish latent infection, with one characterized viral reservoir being hematopoietic cells. Although reactivation from latency causes serious disease in immunocompromised individuals, our molecular understanding of latency is limited. Here, we delineate viral gene expression during natural HCMV persistent infection by analyzing the massive transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) atlas generated by the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. This systematic analysis reveals that HCMV persistencein vivois prevalent in diverse tissues. Notably, we find only viral transcripts that resemble gene expression during various stages of lytic infection with no evidence of any highly restricted latency-associated viral gene expression program. To further define the transcriptional landscape during HCMV latent infection, we also used single-cell RNA-seq and a tractable experimental latency model. In contrast to some current views on latency, we also find no evidence for any highly restricted latency-associated viral gene expression program. Instead, we reveal that latency-associated gene expression largely mirrors a late lytic viral program, albeit at much lower levels of expression. Overall, our work has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of HCMV persistence and suggests that latency is governed mainly by quantitative changes, with a limited number of qualitative changes, in viral gene expression.IMPORTANCEHuman cytomegalovirus is a prevalent pathogen, infecting most of the population worldwide and establishing lifelong latency in its hosts. Although reactivation from latency causes significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised hosts, our molecular understanding of the latent state remains limited. Here, we examine the viral gene expression during natural and experimental latent HCMV infection on a transcriptome-wide level. In contrast to the classical views on herpesvirus latency, we find no evidence for a restricted latency-associated viral gene expression program. Instead, we reveal that latency gene expression largely resembles a late lytic viral profile, albeit at much lower levels of expression. Taken together, our data transform the current view of HCMV persistence and suggest that latency is mainly governed by quantitative rather than qualitative changes in viral gene expression.

scholarly journals Human cytomegalovirus transcriptome activity differs during replication in human fibroblast, epithelial and astrocyte cell lines

2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 1046-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Towler ◽  
Bahram Ebrahimi ◽  
Brian Lane ◽  
Andrew J. Davison ◽  
Derrick J. Dargan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Growth Kinetics ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Genome Replication ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Low Passage ◽  
Temporal Expression Pattern

Broad cell tropism contributes to the pathogenesis of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), but the extent to which cell type influences HCMV gene expression is unclear. A bespoke HCMV DNA microarray was used to monitor the transcriptome activity of the low passage Merlin strain of HCMV at 12, 24, 48 and 72 h post-infection, during a single round of replication in human fetal foreskin fibroblast cells (HFFF-2s), human retinal pigmented epithelial cells (RPE-1s) and human astrocytoma cells (U373MGs). In order to correlate transcriptome activity with concurrent biological responses, viral cytopathic effect, growth kinetics and genomic loads were examined in the three cell types. The temporal expression pattern of viral genes was broadly similar in HFFF-2s and RPE-1s, but dramatically different in U373MGs. Of the 165 known HCMV protein-coding genes, 41 and 48 were differentially regulated in RPE-1s and U373MGs, respectively, compared with HFFF-2s, and 22 of these were differentially regulated in both RPE-1s and U373MGs. In RPE-1s, all differentially regulated genes were downregulated, but, in U373MGs, some were down- and others upregulated. Differentially regulated genes were identified among the immediate-early, early, early late and true-late viral gene classes. Grouping of downregulated genes according to function at landmark stages of the replication cycle led to the identification of potential bottleneck stages (genome replication, virion assembly, and virion maturation and release) that may account for cell type-dependent viral growth kinetics. The possibility that cell type-specific differences in expressed cellular factors are responsible for modulation of viral gene expression is discussed.

scholarly journals Lytic infection of permissive cells with human cytomegalovirus is regulated by an intrinsic ‘pre-immediate-early’ repression of viral gene expression mediated by histone post-translational modification

2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 2364-2374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian J. Groves ◽  
Matthew B. Reeves ◽  
John H. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Lytic Infection ◽  
Immediate Early ◽  
Late Gene ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Late Gene Expression

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) lytic gene expression occurs in a regulated cascade, initiated by expression of the viral major immediate-early (IE) proteins. Transcribed from the major IE promoter (MIEP), the major IE genes regulate viral early and late gene expression. This study found that a substantial proportion of infecting viral genomes became associated with histones immediately upon infection of permissive fibroblasts at low m.o.i. and these histones bore markers of repressed chromatin. As infection progressed, however, the viral MIEP became associated with histone marks, which correlate with the known transcriptional activity of the MIEP at IE time points. Interestingly, this chromatin-mediated repression of the MIEP at ‘pre-IE’ times of infection could be overcome by inhibition of histone deacetylases, as well as by infection at high m.o.i., and resulted in a temporal advance of the infection cycle by inducing premature viral early and late gene expression and DNA replication. As well as the MIEP, and consistent with previous observations, the viral early and late promoters were also initially associated with repressive chromatin. However, changes in histone modifications around these promoters also occurred as infection progressed, and this correlated with the known temporal regulation of the viral early and late gene expression cascade. These data argue that the chromatin structure of all classes of viral genes are initially repressed on infection of permissive cells and that the chromatin structure of HCMV gene promoters plays an important role in regulating the time course of viral gene expression during lytic infection.

Cell-cycle-dependent localization of human cytomegalovirus UL83 phosphoprotein in the nucleolus and modulation of viral gene expression in human embryo fibroblasts in vitro

2011 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria-Cristina Arcangeletti ◽  
Isabella Rodighiero ◽  
Prisco Mirandola ◽  
Flora De Conto ◽  
Silvia Covan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Human Embryo ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Embryo Fibroblasts ◽  
Cycle Dependent

scholarly journals MicroRNA miR-21 Attenuates Human Cytomegalovirus Replication in Neural Cells by Targeting Cdc25a

2014 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 1070-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Ru Fu ◽  
Xi-Juan Liu ◽  
Xiao-Jun Li ◽  
Zhang-zhou Shen ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Hcmv Infection ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
Hcmv Replication

ABSTRACTCongenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a leading cause of birth defects, primarily manifesting as neurological disorders. HCMV infection alters expression of cellular microRNAs (miRs) and induces cell cycle arrest, which in turn modifies the cellular environment to favor virus replication. Previous observations found that HCMV infection reduces miR-21 expression in neural progenitor/stem cells (NPCs). Here, we show that infection of NPCs and U-251MG cells represses miR-21 while increasing the levels of Cdc25a, a cell cycle regulator and known target of miR-21. These opposing responses to infection prompted an investigation of the relationship between miR-21, Cdc25a, and viral replication. Overexpression of miR-21 in NPCs and U-251MG cells inhibited viral gene expression, genome replication, and production of infectious progeny, while shRNA-knockdown of miR-21 in U-251MG cells increased viral gene expression. In contrast, overexpression of Cdc25a in U-251MG cells increased viral gene expression and production of infectious progeny and overcame the inhibitory effects of miR-21 overexpression. Three viral gene products—IE1, pp71, and UL26—were shown to inhibit miR-21 expression at the transcriptional level. These results suggest that Cdc25a promotes HCMV replication and elevation of Cdc25a levels after HCMV infection are due in part to HCMV-mediated repression of miR-21. Thus, miR-21 is an intrinsic antiviral factor that is modulated by HCMV infection. This suggests a role for miR-21 downregulation in the neuropathogenesis of HCMV infection of the developing CNS.IMPORTANCEHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen and has very high prevalence among population, especially in China, and congenital HCMV infection is a major cause for birth defects. Elucidating virus-host interactions that govern HCMV replication in neuronal cells is critical to understanding the neuropathogenesis of birth defects resulting from congenital infection. In this study, we confirm that HCMV infection downregulates miR-21 but upregulates Cdc25a. Further determined the negative effects of cellular miRNA miR-21 on HCMV replication in neural progenitor/stem cells and U-251MG glioblastoma/astrocytoma cells. More importantly, our results provide the first evidence that miR-21 negatively regulates HCMV replication by targeting Cdc25a, a vital cell cycle regulator. We further found that viral gene products of IE1, pp71, and UL26 play roles in inhibiting miR-21 expression, which in turn causes increases in Cdc25a and benefits HCMV replication. Thus, miR-21 appears to be an intrinsic antiviral factor that represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

scholarly journals DNA Microarrays of the Complex Human Cytomegalovirus Genome: Profiling Kinetic Class with Drug Sensitivity of Viral Gene Expression

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 5757-5766 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Chambers ◽  
Ana Angulo ◽  
Dhammika Amaratunga ◽  
Hongqing Guo ◽  
Ying Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Viral Dna ◽  
Viral Protein Synthesis ◽  
Entire Genome

ABSTRACT We describe, for the first time, the generation of a viral DNA chip for simultaneous expression measurements of nearly all known open reading frames (ORFs) in the largest member of the herpesvirus family, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). In this study, an HCMV chip was fabricated and used to characterize the temporal class of viral gene expression. The viral chip is composed of microarrays of viral DNA prepared by robotic deposition of oligonucleotides on glass for ORFs in the HCMV genome. Viral gene expression was monitored by hybridization to the oligonucleotide microarrays with fluorescently labelled cDNAs prepared from mock-infected or infected human foreskin fibroblast cells. By using cycloheximide and ganciclovir to block de novo viral protein synthesis and viral DNA replication, respectively, the kinetic classes of array elements were classified. The expression profiles of known ORFs and many previously uncharacterized ORFs provided a temporal map of immediate-early (α), early (β), early-late (γ1), and late (γ2) genes in the entire genome of HCMV. Sequence compositional analysis of the 5′ noncoding DNA sequences of the temporal classes, performed by using algorithms that automatically search for defined and recurring motifs in unaligned sequences, indicated the presence of potential regulatory motifs for β, γ1, and γ2 genes. In summary, these fabricated microarrays of viral DNA allow rapid and parallel analysis of gene expression at the whole viral genome level. The viral chip approach coupled with global biochemical and genetic strategies should greatly speed the functional analysis of established as well as newly discovered large viral genomes.

scholarly journals Requirement of Multiple cis-Acting Elements in the Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate-Early Distal Enhancer for Viral Gene Expression and Replication

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery L. Meier ◽  
Michael J. Keller ◽  
James J. McCoy
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Viral Replication ◽  
Gene Transcription ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Immediate Early ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Distal Enhancer ◽  
Cis Acting ◽  
Hcmv Replication

ABSTRACT We have shown previously that the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) major immediate-early (MIE) distal enhancer is needed for MIE promoter-dependent transcription and viral replication at low multiplicities of infection (MOI). To understand how this region works, we constructed and analyzed a series of HCMVs with various distal enhancer mutations. We show that the distal enhancer is composed of at least two parts that function independently to coordinately activate MIE promoter-dependent transcription and viral replication. One such part is contained in a 47-bp segment that has consensus binding sites for CREB/ATF, SP1, and YY1. At low MOI, these working parts likely function in cis to directly activate MIE gene expression, thus allowing viral replication to ensue. Three findings support the view that these working parts are likely cis-acting elements. (i) Deletion of either part of a bisegmented distal enhancer only slightly alters MIE gene transcription and viral replication. (ii) Reversing the distal enhancer’s orientation largely preserves MIE gene transcription and viral replication. (iii) Placement of stop codons at −300 or −345 in all reading frames does not impair MIE gene transcription and viral replication. Lastly, we show that these working parts are dispensable at high MOI, partly because of compensatory stimulation of MIE promoter activity and viral replication that is induced by a virion-associated component(s) present at a high viral particle/cell ratio. We conclude that the distal enhancer is a complex multicomponent cis-acting region that is required to augment both MIE promoter-dependent transcription and HCMV replication.

scholarly journals Posttranscriptional Suppression of Interleukin-6 Production by Human Cytomegalovirus

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 472-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Gealy ◽  
Marian Denson ◽  
Christine Humphreys ◽  
Brian McSharry ◽  
Gavin Wilkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Interleukin 6 ◽  
Human Fibroblasts ◽  
Intracellular Localization ◽  
Viral Gene Expression ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Productive Infection ◽  
Viral Gene

ABSTRACT Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has evolved multiple strategies for suppression of the antiviral response of the infected cell. DNA array technology has revealed that HCMV clearly regulates host gene expression during the course of a productive infection by enhancing, sustaining, or suppressing steady-state levels of cellular transcripts. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays a central role in the immune response to infection. Here we report a detailed study of the effects of HCMV infection on IL-6 expression by human fibroblasts. UV-inactivated virus was found to induce high levels of IL-6 mRNA and protein expression, and IL-6 mRNA remained abundant in cells 16 h after inoculation even though the level of ongoing IL-6 transcription was not significantly enhanced. In lytic HCMV infections, the onset of viral gene expression resulted in two apparently antagonistic effects on IL-6 expression: (i) transcriptional activation, mediated at least in part by the IE2p86 protein, and (ii) posttranscriptional suppression mediated by destabilization of IL-6 mRNA. Transcriptional activation was outweighed by the suppressive effect, such that cells undergoing productive infection produced less IL-6 than cells challenged with inactivated virus. Suppression of IL-6 expression was independent of the viral IL-10 homologue, cmvIL-10. Destabilization of IL-6 mRNA was observed to coincide with the enhanced expression and aberrant intracellular localization of HuR, an mRNA-binding protein known to interact with IL-6 and other mRNAs containing 3′ AU-rich elements. Our data suggest a novel mechanism for gene regulation by HCMV at the posttranscriptional level.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document