TY  - JOUR
AU  - Baccianti, Francesco
AU  - Masson, Charlène
AU  - Delecluse, Susanne
AU  - Li, Zhe
AU  - Poirey, Remy
AU  - Delecluse, Henri-Jacques
TI  - Epstein-Barr virus infectious particles initiate B cell transformation and modulate cytokine response.
JO  - mBio
VL  - 14
IS  - 5
SN  - 2161-2129
CY  - Washington, DC
PB  - American Society for Microbiology
M1  - DKFZ-2023-02082
SP  - e0178423
PY  - 2023
N1  - #EA:F100#LA:F100# / 2023 Oct 13;14(5):e0178423
AB  - The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) efficiently transforms primary B cells. Here, we show that this process starts immediately after cellular exposure to infectious viral particles. Virus binding to B cells led to the activation of intracytoplasmic tyrosine kinases and STAT3. Tegument proteins within the virion in turn activated the p38-MK2 pathway upon cell entry, independently of the viral DNA. Engagement of STAT3 and p38/MK2, two pro-inflammatory pathways, was essential for expression of the key EBV transforming gene EBNA2 but also facilitated IL-6 and TNFα release. However, these pathways simultaneously activated ZFP36L1, a stress response protein that targets transcripts with an AU-rich 3'UTR, to reduce IL-6 and TNFα transcription in infected cells. Expression of viral latent proteins after infection amplified the viral effects on p38 and MK2, but also on ZFP36L1, altogether resulting in a transitory and limited increase in IL-6 and TNFα transcription and release. Thus, EBV virions are not merely vehicles that allow injection of the viral DNA into the nucleus but manipulate cellular pathways to initiate transformation while limiting cytokine release. IMPORTANCE The Epstein-Barr virus efficiently infects and transforms B lymphocytes. During this process, infectious viral particles transport the viral genome to the nucleus of target cells. We show here that these complex viral structures serve additional crucial roles by activating transcription of the transforming genes encoded by the virus. We show that components of the infectious particle sequentially activate proinflammatory B lymphocyte signaling pathways that, in turn, activate viral gene expression but also cause cytokine release. However, virus infection activates expression of ZFP36L1, an RNA-binding stress protein that limits the length and the intensity of the cytokine response. Thus, the infectious particles can activate viral gene expression and initiate cellular transformation at the price of a limited immune response.
KW  - Epstein-Barr virus (Other)
KW  - STAT3 (Other)
KW  - ZFP36L1 (Other)
KW  - p38-MK2 (Other)
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:37830871
DO  - DOI:10.1128/mbio.01784-23
UR  - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/284771
ER  -