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The expression of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 3C (EBNA3C) is essential for the activation and immortalization of human B lymphocytes by EBV. EBNA3C consists of 992 amino acids and includes a potential bZIP motif and regions rich in acidic, proline, and glutamine residues. Thus, EBNA3C resembles several trans regulators of gene expression. It has recently been shown that a fragment of EBNA3C can activate reporter gene expression when fused to the DNA-binding domain of GAL4 (D. Marshall and C. Sample, J. Virol. 69:3624-3630,1995). Although EBNA3C binds DNA, a specific site for EBNA3C binding has not been identified; to test the ability of full-length EBNA3C to regulate transcription, EBNA3C (amino acids 11 to 992) was fused to the DNA-binding domain of GAL4. We show that this fusion protein does not transactivate but rather is a potent repressor of reporter gene expression. Repression is dependent on the dose of GAL4-EBNA3C and on the presence of GAL4-binding sites within reporter plasmids. Repression is not restricted to B cells nor is it species or promoter specific. Repression is independent of the location of the GAL4-binding sites relative to the transcription start site. A fragment of EBNA3C (amino acids 280 to 525) which represses expression in a manner which is nearly identical to that of the full-length protein has been identified; this fragment is rich in acidic and proline residues. A second, less potent repressor region located C terminal to amino acids 280 to 525 has also been identified; this domain is rich in proline and glutamine residues. We also show binding of EBNA3C, in vitro, to the TATA-binding protein component of TFIID, and this suggests a mechanism by which EBNA3C may communicate with the basal transcription complex.

We have established that in the Becker strain of pseudorabies virus (PRV), the glycoprotein gIII gene is not essential for growth in cell culture. This was accomplished by construction and analysis of viral mutants containing two defined deletion mutations affecting the gIII gene. These mutations were first constructed in vitro and introduced into Escherichia coli expression plasmids to verify structure and protein production. Each mutation was then crossed onto PRV by cotransfection of plasmid DNA and parental viral DNA by using gIII-specific monoclonal antibodies as selective and screening reagents. One resultant virus strain, PRV-2, contained an in-frame deletion of a 402-base-pair (bp) SacI fragment contained within the gIII gene. Another virus strain, PRV-10, contained a deletion of a 1,480-bp XhoI fragment removing 230 bp of the upstream, putative transcriptional control sequences and 87% of the gIII coding sequence. The deletion mutants were compared with parental virus by analysis of virion DNA, gIII specific RNA, and proteins reacting with gIII specific antibodies. Upon infection of PK15 cells, the deletion mutants did not produce any proteins that reacted with two gIII specific monoclonal antibodies. However, two species of truncated glycosylated proteins were observed in PRV-2 infected cells that reacted with antiserum raised against bacterially produced gIII protein. PRV-10 produced no detectable gIII-specific RNA or protein. PRV-10 could be propagated without difficulty in tissue culture. Virus particles lacking gIII were indistinguishable from parental PRV virus particles by analysis of infected-cell thin sections in the electron microscope. We therefore conclude that expression of the gIII gene was not absolutely essential for PRV growth in tissue culture.

A herpes simplex virus type 1 strain isolated from a recurrent lesion of the nose reacted with monoclonal antibodies recognizing a type 2-specific site on glycoprotein D but not with monoclonal antibodies recognizing other type 2-specific sites. DNA sequence analysis of the glycoprotein D gene of the isolate revealed a single nucleotide alteration which changed the codon for asparagine to one encoding histidine at amino acid 97 in the protein. Histidine is located at this position in glycoprotein of herpes simplex virus type 2; thus, the monoclonal antibody 17 beta A3 recognizes an epitope located at this region of the protein.

We have looked for conserved DNA sequences between four herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein genes encoding gB, gC, gD, and gE and pseudorabies virus (PRV) DNA, HSV-1 DNA fragments representing these four glycoprotein-coding sequences were hybridized to restriction enzyme fragments of PRV DNA by the Southern blot procedure. Specific hybridization was observed only when HSV-1 gB DNA was used as probe. This region of hybridization was localized to a 5.2-kilobase (kb) region mapping at approximately 0.15 map units on the PRV genome. Northern blot (RNA blot) analysis, with a 1.2-kb probe derived from this segment, revealed a predominant hybridizing RNA species of approximately 3 kb in PRV-infected PK15 cells. DNA sequence analysis of the region corresponding to this RNA revealed a single large open reading frame with significant nucleotide homology with the gB gene of HSV-1 KOS 321. In addition, the beginning of the sequenced PRV region also contained the end of an open reading frame with amino acid homology to HSV-1 ICP 18.5, a protein that may be involved in viral glycoprotein transport. This sequence partially overlaps the PRV gB homolog coding sequence. We have shown that the PRV gene with homology to HSV-1 gB encoded the gII glycoprotein gene by expressing a 765-base-pair segment of the PRV open reading frame in Escherichia coli as a protein fused to beta-galactosidase. Antiserum, raised in rabbits, against this fusion protein immunoprecipitated a specific family of PRV glycoproteins of apparent molecular mass 110, 68, and 55 kilodaltons that have been identified as the gII family of glycoproteins. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence indicated that the PRV gII protein shares 50% amino acid homology with the aligned HSV-1 gB protein. All 10 cysteine residues located outside of the signal sequence, as well as 4 of 6 potential N-linked glycosylation sites, were conserved between the two proteins. The primary protein sequence for HSV-1 gB regions known to be involved in the rate of virus entry into the cells and cell-cell fusion, as well as regions known to be associated with monoclonal antibody resistance, were highly homologous with the PRV protein sequence. Furthermore, monospecific antibody made against PRV gII immunoprecipitated HSV-1 gB from infected cells. Taken together, these findings suggest significant conservation of structure and function between the two proteins and may indicate a common evolutionary history.

We have examined the structures of two herpes simplex virus type 1 immediate-early (IE) RNAs (IE mRNA-4 and IE mRNA-5) which map at the junctions of the unique (Us) and reiterated regions (TRs/IRs) of the virus DNA short component. Hybrids between IE cytoplasmic RNA and herpes simplex virus type 1 DNA restriction fragments were digested with single-strand-specific nucleases S1 and exonuclease VII, and the products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Data obtained with the nuclease digestion technique were confirmed by electron microscopy of R-loop structures formed with polyadenylated IE RNA and virus DNA fragments. It was found that both IE mRNA-4 and IE mRNA-5 contained a 260-base 5'-terminal cotranscript which mapped at equivalent loci within TRs/IRs. These 5'-terminal sequences were shown to be spliced to 3'-terminal cotranscripts of 1,450 bases (for IE mRNA-4) and 1,540 bases (for IE mRNA-5). The 3'-terminal cotranscripts contained sequences encoded by both TRs/IRs and opposite ends of Us, indicating that the introns contained by the IE mRNA-4 and IE mRNA-5 genes, found to be approximately 150 base pairs in size, mapped entirely within the reiterated sequences. The data suggest that these genes may contain common and unique components, and the implications of this model are discussed.

Polyadenylated immediate-early transcripts of herpes simplex virus type 1, made in BHK cells infected and maintained in the presence of cycloheximide, have been separated on denaturing agarose gels containing methyl mercuric hydroxide. Three virus-specific mRNA bands of estimated sizes 4.7, 3.0, and 2.0 kilobases (kb) were detected, and these mRNA's were mapped on the virus genome and also used to direct protein synthesis in vitro. The 4.7- and 3.0-kb mRNA's hybridized predominantly to certain DNA fragments which are located in the short and long repetitive regions of the genome, respectively, whereas the 2.0-kb mRNA's mapped to three discrete regions of the virus DNA. In vitro translation of these separated mRNA size classes indicated that the 3.0-kb mRNA specified the synthesis of virus polypeptide Vmw 110, whereas the 2.0-kb mRNA's specified Vmw 68, 63, and 12. The synthesis of small amounts of Vmw 175 was specified by the 4.7-kb mRNA. In contrast with the mRNA's which specify these other immediate-early polypeptides, that specifying Vmw 12 is much larger than required for its coding sequences.