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. 1996 Aug 20;93(17):9194–9199. doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.17.9194

Epstein-Barr viral latency is disrupted by the immediate-early BRLF1 protein through a cell-specific mechanism.

S Zalani 1, E Holley-Guthrie 1, S Kenney 1
PMCID: PMC38618  PMID: 8799177

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis, is a human herpesvirus associated with epithelial cell malignancies (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) as well as B-cell malignancies. Understanding how viral latency is disrupted is a central issue in herpesvirus biology. Epithelial cells are the major site of lytic EBV replication within the human host, and viral reactivation occurs in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinomas. It is known that expression of a single viral immediate-early protein, BZLF1, is sufficient to initiate the switch from latent to lytic infection in B cells. Cellular regulation of BZLF1 transcription is therefore thought to play a key role in regulating the stringency of viral latency. Here we show that, unexpectedly, expression of another viral immediate-early protein, BRLF1, can disrupt viral latency in an epithelial cell-specific fashion. Therefore, the mechanisms leading to disruption of EBV latency appear to be cell-type specific.

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Selected References

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