TY  - JOUR
A1  - Li, Jinlin
A1  - Nagy, Noemi
A1  - Liu, Jiangnan
A1  - Gupta, Soham
A1  - Frisan, Teresa
A1  - Hennig, Thomas
A1  - Cameron, Donald P.
A1  - Baranello, Laura
A1  - Masucci, Maria G.
T1  - The Epstein-Barr virus deubiquitinating enzyme BPLF1 regulates the activity of topoisomerase II during productive infection
JF  - PLOS Pathogens
N2  - Topoisomerases are essential for the replication of herpesviruses but the mechanisms by which the viruses hijack the cellular enzymes are largely unknown. We found that topoisomerase-II (TOP2) is a substrate of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) ubiquitin deconjugase BPLF1. BPLF1 co-immunoprecipitated and deubiquitinated TOP2, and stabilized SUMOy-lated TOP2 trapped in cleavage complexes (TOP2ccs), which halted the DNA damage response to TOP2-induced double strand DNA breaks and promoted cell survival. Induction of the productive virus cycle in epithelial and lymphoid cell lines carrying recombinant EBV encoding the active enzyme was accompanied by TOP2 deubiquitination, accumulation of TOP2ccs and resistance to Etoposide toxicity. The protective effect of BPLF1 was dependent on the expression of tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (TDP2) that releases DNA-trapped TOP2 and promotes error-free DNA repair. These findings highlight a previously unrecognized function of BPLF1 in supporting a non-proteolytic pathway for TOP2ccs debulking that favors cell survival and virus production.
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-363841
VL  - 17
ER  - 
TY  - INPR
A1  - Hennig, Thomas
A1  - Prusty, Archana B.
A1  - Kaufer, Benedikt
A1  - Whisnant, Adam W.
A1  - Lodha, Manivel
A1  - Enders, Antje
A1  - Thomas, Julius
A1  - Kasimir, Francesca
A1  - Grothey, Arnhild
A1  - Herb, Stefanie
A1  - Jürges, Christopher
A1  - Meister, Gunter
A1  - Erhard, Florian
A1  - Dölken, Lars
A1  - Prusty, Bhupesh K.
T1  - Selective inhibition of microRNA processing by a herpesvirus-encoded microRNA triggers virus reactivation from latency
N2  - Herpesviruses have mastered host cell modulation and immune evasion to augment productive infection, life-long latency and reactivation thereof 1,2. A long appreciated, yet elusively defined relationship exists between the lytic-latent switch and viral non-coding RNAs 3,4. Here, we identify miRNA-mediated inhibition of miRNA processing as a novel cellular mechanism that human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) exploits to disrupt mitochondrial architecture, evade intrinsic host defense and drive the latent-lytic switch. We demonstrate that virus-encoded miR-aU14 selectively inhibits the processing of multiple miR-30 family members by direct interaction with the respective pri-miRNA hairpin loops. Subsequent loss of miR-30 and activation of miR-30/p53/Drp1 axis triggers a profound disruption of mitochondrial architecture, which impairs induction of type I interferons and is necessary for both productive infection and virus reactivation. Ectopic expression of miR-aU14 was sufficient to trigger virus reactivation from latency thereby identifying it as a readily drugable master regulator of the herpesvirus latent-lytic switch. Our results show that miRNA-mediated inhibition of miRNA processing represents a generalized cellular mechanism that can be exploited to selectively target individual members of miRNA families. We anticipate that targeting miR-aU14 provides exciting therapeutic options for preventing herpesvirus reactivations in HHV-6-associated disorders like myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long-COVID.
KW  - Herpesvirus
KW  - HHV-6
KW  - miRNA processing
KW  - miR-30
KW  - mitochondria
KW  - fusion and fission
KW  - type I interferon
KW  - latency
KW  - virus reactivation
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267858
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-820696/v1
ET  - submitted version
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hennig, Thomas
A1  - Djakovic, Lara
A1  - Dölken, Lars
A1  - Whisnant, Adam W.
T1  - A Review of the Multipronged Attack of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 on the Host Transcriptional Machinery
JF  - Viruses
N2  - During lytic infection, herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 induces a rapid shutoff of host RNA synthesis while redirecting transcriptional machinery to viral genes. In addition to being a major human pathogen, there is burgeoning clinical interest in HSV as a vector in gene delivery and oncolytic therapies, necessitating research into transcriptional control. This review summarizes the array of impacts that HSV has on RNA Polymerase (Pol) II, which transcribes all mRNA in infected cells. We discuss alterations in Pol II holoenzymes, post-translational modifications, and how viral proteins regulate specific activities such as promoter-proximal pausing, splicing, histone repositioning, and termination with respect to host genes. Recent technological innovations that have reshaped our understanding of previous observations are summarized in detail, along with specific research directions and technical considerations for future studies.
KW  - herpes simplex virus
KW  - RNA polymerase II
KW  - transcription
KW  - host shutoff
KW  - promoter-proximal pausing
KW  - C-terminal domain
KW  - polyadenylation
KW  - splicing
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246165
SN  - 1999-4915
VL  - 13
IS  - 9
ER  -