Feature Reviews of the Molecular Mechanisms of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare in most parts of the world but endemic in southern Asia. Here, we describe the molecular abnormalities in NPC and point out potential molecular mechanisms for future therapy. This article provides a brief up-to-date review focusing on the molecular pathways of NPC, which may improve our knowledge of this disease, and we also highlight some issues for further research. In brief, some heritable genes are related to NPC; therefore, people with a family history of NPC have an increased risk of this disease. Carcinogenic substances and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) exposure both contribute to tumorigenesis through the accumulation of multiple genomic changes. In recent years, salted fish intake has decreased the impact on NPC, which implies that changing exposure to carcinogens can modify the risk of NPC. Eradication of cancer-associated viruses potentially eradicates cancer, and EBV vaccines might also prevent this disease in the future. Screening patients by using an EBV antibody is feasible in the high-risk group; plasma EBV DNA measurement could also be conducted for screening, prognosis, and monitoring of this disease. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of NPC can further provide novel information for health promotion, disease screening, and precision cancer treatment.

The MKK-Dependent Phosphorylation of p38α Is Augmented by Arginine Methylation on Arg49/Arg149 during Erythroid Differentiation.

The activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) through a phosphorylation cascade is the canonical mode of regulation. Here, we report a novel activation mechanism for p38α. We show that Arg49 and Arg149 of p38α are methylated by protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1). The non-methylation mutations of Lys49/Lys149 abolish the promotive effect of p38α on erythroid differentiation. MAPK kinase 3 (MKK3) is identified as the major p38α upstream kinase and MKK3-mediated activation of the R49/149K mutant p38α is greatly reduced. This is due to a profound reduction in the interaction of p38α and MKK3. PRMT1 can enhance both the methylation level of p38α and its interaction with MKK3. However, the phosphorylation of p38α by MKK3 is not a prerequisite for methylation. MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK2) is identified as a p38α downstream effector in the PRMT1-mediated promotion of erythroid differentiation. The interaction of MAPKAPK2 with p38α is also significantly reduced in the R49/149K mutant. Together, this study unveils a novel regulatory mechanism of p38α activation via protein arginine methylation on R49/R149 by PRMT1, which impacts partner interaction and thus promotes erythroid differentiation. This study provides a new insight into the complexity of the regulation of the versatile p38α signaling and suggests new directions in intervening p38α signaling.

Regulation of Epstein-Barr virus OriP replication by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is an abundant, chromatin-associated, NAD-dependent enzyme that functions in multiple chromosomal processes, including DNA replication and chromatin remodeling. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) origin of plasmid replication (OriP) is a dynamic genetic element that confers stable episome maintenance, DNA replication initiation, and chromatin organization functions. OriP function depends on the EBV-encoded origin binding protein EBNA1. We have previously shown that EBNA1 is subject to negative regulation by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation). We now show that PARP1 physically associates with OriP in latently EBV-infected B cells. Short hairpin RNA depletion of PARP1 enhances OriP replication activity and increases EBNA1, origin recognition complex 2 (ORC2), and minichromosome maintenance complex (MCM) association with OriP. Pharmacological inhibitors of PARP1 enhance OriP plasmid maintenance and increase EBNA1, ORC2, and MCM3 occupancy at OriP. PARylation in vitro inhibits ORC2 recruitment and remodels telomere repeat factor (TRF) binding at the dyad symmetry (DS) element of OriP. Purified PARP1 can ribosylate EBNA1 at multiple sites throughout its amino terminus but not in the carboxy-terminal DNA binding domain. We also show that EBNA1 linking regions (LR1 and LR2) can bind directly to oligomers of PAR. We propose that PARP1-dependent PARylation of EBNA1 and adjacently bound TRF2 induces structural changes at the DS element that reduce EBNA1 DNA binding affinity and functional recruitment of ORC.

Decoy receptor 3, upregulated by Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein 1, enhances nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell migration and invasion.

Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), a member of tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, has been implicated in tumorigenesis through its abilities to modulate immune responses and induce angiogenesis. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a ubiquitous gamma-herpesvirus, is associated with malignancies including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Previous studies show that DcR3 is overexpressed in EBV-positive lymphomas and Rta, an EBV transcription activator, can upregulate DcR3 in Burkitt lymphoma cell lines. However, DcR3 expression has not been demonstrated in EBV-associated NPC nor have there been any EBV latent genes linked to DcR3 upregulation. Here, we showed DcR3 was overexpressed in NPC. Higher DcR3 expression score and DcR3-positive rate were found in metastatic NPC than in primary NPC tissues, suggesting DcR3 may enhance cell metastatic potential. This hypothesis is supported by our observation that NPC HONE-1 cells overexpressing DcR3 exhibited significant higher migration and invasion abilities in vitro. We found besides Rta, EBV latent membrane protein (LMP) 1 can upregulate DcR3 via nuclear factor-kappaB and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-signaling events. Approximate 75% of LMP1-positive NPC tissues overexpressed DcR3, suggesting LMP1 may enhance DcR3 expression in vivo. Data herein suggested that increasing DcR3 expression by LMP1 not only helps EBV-associated cancer cells gain survival advantage by preventing host immune detection but also increases the chance of cancer metastasis by enhancing cell migration and invasion. All these DcR3-mediated events facilitate normal cells to gain cancer hallmarks.

EBV Zta protein induces the expression of interleukin-13, promoting the proliferation of EBV-infected B cells and lymphoblastoid cell lines.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection can modify the cytokine expression profiles of host cells and determine the fate of those cells. Of note, expression of interleukin-13 (IL-13) may be detected in EBV-associated Hodgkin lymphoma and the natural killer (NK) cells of chronic active EBV-infected patients, but its biologic role and regulatory mechanisms are not understood. Using cytokine antibody arrays, we found that IL-13 production is induced in B cells early during EBV infection. Furthermore, the EBV lytic protein, Zta (also known as the BZLF-1 product), which is a transcriptional activator, was found to induce IL-13 expression following transfection. Mechanistically, induction of IL-13 expression by Zta is mediated directly through its binding to the IL-13 promoter, via a consensus AP-1 binding site. Blockade of IL-13 by antibody neutralization showed that IL-13 is required at an early stage of EBV-induced proliferation and for long-term maintenance of the growth of EBV immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Thus, Zta-induced IL-13 production facilitates B-cell proliferation and may contribute to the pathogenesis of EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disorders, such as posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Epstein-Barr virus transcription activator Rta upregulates decoy receptor 3 expression by binding to its promoter.

Decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) is a soluble decoy receptor belonging to the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily that is overexpressed in various malignant tumor types. DcR3 has been implicated in tumor cell survival by inhibiting apoptosis and by interfering with immune surveillance. A previous study showed that DcR3 expression is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphomas but rarely with non-EBV-positive B-cell lymphomas, suggesting that the presence of EBV may affect DcR3 expression. Here, we demonstrated enhanced DcR3 expression upon EBV reactivation in P3HR1 cells and in EBV-infected 293 cells. This enhancement, however, could not be detected in 293 cells infected with EBV with BRLF1 deleted. We found that EBV transactivator, Rta, could upregulate DcR3 expression by direct binding to an Rta-responsive element (RRE) located in the DcR3 promoter region and that this RRE is important for Rta-mediated DcR3 expression. Overexpressing CREB-binding protein (CBP) further enhanced Rta-dependent DcR3 expression, suggesting Rta-dependent DcR3 transcription activity is mediated by CBP. Previously, Rta was shown to enhance phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3-K) activity. However, Rta-transduced PI 3-K activity plays a minor role in DcR3 expression. This is the first report to demonstrate that Rta upregulates a cellular gene by direct binding to an RRE.

The c-MYC oncoprotein is a substrate of the acetyltransferases hGCN5/PCAF and TIP60.

The c-MYC oncoprotein functions as a sequence-specific transcription factor. The ability of c-MYC to activate transcription relies in part on the recruitment of cofactor complexes containing the histone acetyltransferases mammalian GCN5 (mGCN5)/PCAF and TIP60. In addition to acetylating histones, these enzymes have been shown to acetylate other proteins involved in transcription, including sequence-specific transcription factors. This study was initiated in order to determine whether c-MYC is a direct substrate of mGCN5 and TIP60. We report here that mGCN5/PCAF and TIP60 acetylate c-MYC in vivo. By using nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry to examine c-MYC purified from human cells, the major mGCN5-induced acetylation sites have been mapped. Acetylation of c-MYC by either mGCN5/PCAF or TIP60 results in a dramatic increase in protein stability. The data reported here suggest a conserved mechanism by which acetyltransferases regulate c-MYC function by altering its rate of degradation.

HCMV IE2-mediated inhibition of HAT activity downregulates p53 function.

Targeting of cellular histone acetyltransferases (HATs) by viral proteins is important in the development of virus-associated diseases. The immediate-early 2 protein (IE2) of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) binds to the tumor suppressor, p53, and inactivates its functions by unknown mechanisms. Here, we show that IE2 binds to the HAT domain of the p53 coactivators, p300 and CREB-binding protein (CBP), and blocks their acetyltransferase activity on both histones and p53. The minimal HAT inactivation region on IE2 involves the N-terminal 98 amino acids. The in vivo DNA binding of p53 and local histone acetylation on p53-dependent promoters are all reduced by IE2, but not by mutant IE2 proteins that lack the HAT inhibition region. Furthermore, the p53 acetylation site mutant, K320/373/382R, retains both DNA binding and promoter transactivation activity in vivo and these effects are repressed by IE2 as well. Together with the finding that only wild-type IE2 exerts an antiapoptotic effect, our results suggest that HCMV IE2 downregulates p53-dependent gene activation by inhibiting p300/CBP-mediated local histone acetylation and that IE2 may have oncogenic activity.

The CBP bromodomain and nucleosome targeting are required for Zta-directed nucleosome acetylation and transcription activation.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded lytic activator Zta is a bZIP protein that can stimulate nucleosomal histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity of the CREB binding protein (CBP) in vitro. We now show that deletion of the CBP bromo- and C/H3 domains eliminates stimulation of nucleosomal HAT activity in vitro and transcriptional coactivation by Zta in transfected cells. In contrast, acetylation of free histones was not affected by the addition of Zta or by deletions in the bromo or C/H3 domain of CBP. Zta stimulated acetylation of oligonucleosomes assembled on supercoiled DNA and dinucleosomes assembled on linear DNA, but Zta-stimulated acetylation was significantly reduced for mononucleosomes. Western blotting and amino-terminal protein sequencing indicated that all lysine residues in the H3 and H4 amino-terminal tails were acetylated by CBP and enhanced by the addition of Zta. Histone acetylation was also dependent upon the Zta basic DNA binding domain, which could not be substituted with the homologous basic region of c-Fos, indicating specificity in the bZIP domain nucleosome binding function. Finally, we show that Zta and CBP colocalize to viral immediate-early promoters in vivo and that overexpression of Zta leads to a robust increase in H3 and H4 acetylation at various regions of the EBV genome in vivo. Furthermore, deletion of the CBP bromodomain reduced stable CBP-Zta complex formation and histone acetylation at Zta-responsive viral promoters in vivo. These results suggest that activator- and bromodomain-dependent targeting to oligonucleosomal chromatin is required for stable promoter-bound complex formation and transcription activity.

Telomeric proteins regulate episomal maintenance of Epstein-Barr virus origin of plasmid replication.

Episomal maintenance and DNA replication of EBV origin of plasmid replication (OriP) plasmid maintenance is mediated by the viral encoded origin binding protein, EBNA1, and unknown cellular factors. We found that telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TRF2), TRF2-interacting protein hRap1, and the telomere-associated poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (Tankyrase) bound to the dyad symmetry (DS) element of OriP in an EBNA1-dependent manner. TRF2 bound cooperatively with EBNA1 to the three nonamer sites (TTAGGGTTA), which resemble telomeric repeats. Mutagenesis of the nonamers reduced plasmid maintenance function and increased plasmid sensitivity to genotoxic stress. DS affinity-purified proteins possessed poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity, and EBNA1 was subject to NAD-dependent posttranslational modification in vitro. OriP plasmid maintenance was sensitive to changes in cellular PARP/Tankyrase activity. These findings imply that telomere-associated proteins regulate OriP plasmid maintenance by PAR-dependent modifications.