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Title: PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTIONS AND DNA-BINDING PROPERTIES OF THE MDV ECO Q (MEQ) PRODUCT

Author
item BRUNOVSKIS, PETER - CASE WESTERN RESERVE
item QIAN, ZHENG - CASE WESTERN RESERVE
item PRIVES, C - COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
item TEMPLETON, D - CASE WESTERN RESERVE
item WACHSMAN, W - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
item Lee, Lucy
item KUNG, HSING-JIEN - CASE WESTERN RESERVE

Submitted to: Int Wkshp on Current Dev in the Molecular Biology of Marek's Disease Virus
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/7/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The short time period required to T cell lymphoma induction by MDV raises the likelihood that MDV may encode a potent oncogene. We have recently focused on an MDV-encoded gene, abundantly expressed in tumor cells, that has a classical basic-leucine zipper (b-ZIP) motif shared by jun/fos-AP1 family of nuclear oncogenes. Together with EBV's BZLF-1/ZEBRA, meq is the only other known b-ZIP herpesvirus transcription factor. Like BZLF-1/ZEBRA, meq can form homodimers which bind to AP-1 and AP-1-like consensus sites. However, unlike ZEBRA, which fails to interact directly with jun/fos oncogenes, meq can interact with a number of different bZIP factors as determined by coprecipitation and electrophoretic mobility shift analyses. Moreover, meq encodes a product biochemically similar to those of other DNA tumor viruses, which are known to contain products that interact with the tumor suppressor genes p53 and Rb. Mapping of the meq-p53 and meq-Rb interaction domains underscore the important role of the meq bZIP region in mediating various protein-protein interactions.