The three-dimensional structure of Epstein-Barr virus genome varies by latency type and is regulated by PARP1 enzymatic activity
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ABSTRACT: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes life-long latency in human B-cells by maintaining its chromatinized episomes within the nucleus. These circularized mini-chromosomes do not integrate into the host genome. Therefore, it is essential for EBV to organize its chromatin in a manner suitable for genomic stability, DNA replication, and efficient gene expression. Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP1) activity is significantly higher in B-cells infected with EBV than those without, and considerably higher in the transcriptionally active type III latency compared to the immunoevasive type I. In addition to its role in DNA damage response, PARP1 has been implicated in transcriptional regulation and structural maintenance of both the human and EBV genome at specific regions. To better understand PARP1's role in the regulation of the EBV episome, we have functionally characterized the effect of PARP enzymatic inhibition on total episomal structure through in situ Hi-C mapping, generating the first complete 3D structure of the EBV genome. We have also mapped intragenomic contact changes after PARP inhibition to global binding of the chromatin looping factors CTCF and cohesin across the EBV genome. Additionally, PARP inhibition was shown to alter gene expression at the regions where chromatin looping was most effected. Finally, we have identified a novel function of PARP, which regulates cohesin complex chromatin binding. In conclusion, PARP1 inhibition does not alter the location of cohesin binding but does increase its frequency of binding at these regions. Despite this, there are fewer overall unique intragenomic interactions after PARP inhibition, while some areas have new chromatin loops not seen in the untreated EBV episome, leading us to conclude that PARP does have an essential role in the regulation of global EBV chromatin structure. The altered expression profile after the structural rearrangement induced by PARP inhibition also supports the idea that PARP1 helps maintain EBV latency programs.
Project description:PARP does have an essential role in the regulation of global EBV episome chromatin structure. We have functionally characterized the effect of PARP enzymatic inhibition on total episomal structure and we mapped intragenomic contact changes after PARP inhibition to global binding of the chromatin looping factors CTCF and cohesin across the EBV genome. The altered expression profile after the structural rearrangement induced by PARP inhibition supports the model where PARP1 helps maintain EBV latency programs.
Project description:PARP does have an essential role in the regulation of global EBV episome chromatin structure. We have functionally characterized the effect of PARP enzymatic inhibition on total episomal structure and we mapped intragenomic contact changes after PARP inhibition to global binding of the chromatin looping factors CTCF and cohesin across the EBV genome. The altered expression profile after the structural rearrangement induced by PARP inhibition supports the model where PARP1 helps maintain EBV latency programs.
Project description:Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) is a potentially oncogenic gammaherpesvirus that establishes a chronic, latent infection in memory B cells. The EBV genome persists in infected host cells as a chromatinized episome and is subject to chromatin-mediated regulation. Binding of the host insulator protein CTCF to the EBV genome has an established role in maintaining viral latency type. CTCF is post-translationally modified by the host enzyme PARP1. PARP1, or Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1, catalyzes the transfer of a poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) moiety from NAD+ onto acceptor proteins including itself, histone proteins, and CTCF. PARylation of CTCF by PARP1 can affect CTCF’s insulator activity, DNA binding capacity, and ability to form chromatin loops. Both PARP1 and CTCF have been implicated in the regulation of EBV latency and lytic reactivation. Thus, we predicted that pharmacological inhibition with PARP1 inhibitors would affect EBV latency type through a chromatin-specific mechanism. Here, we show that PARP1 and CTCF colocalize at specific sites throughout the EBV genome, and provide evidence to suggest that PARP1 acts to stabilize CTCF binding and maintain the open chromatin landscape at the active Cp promoter during type III latency. Further, PARP1 activity is important in maintaining latency type-specific viral gene expression. The data presented here provide a rationale for the use of PARP inhibitors in the treatment of EBV-associated cancers exhibiting type III latency, and could ultimately contribute to an EBV-specific treatment strategy for AIDS-related or post-transplant lymphomas.
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes lifelong asymptomatic infection by replication of its chromatinized episomes with the host genome. EBV exhibits different latency-associated transcriptional repertoires, each with distinct three-dimensional structures. CTCF, Cohesin and PARP1 are involved in maintaining viral latency and establishing episome architecture. Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) represents 1.3% to 30.9% of all gastric cancers globally. EBV-positive gastric cancers exhibit an intermediate viral transcription profile known as "Latency II", expressing specific viral genes and noncoding RNAs. In this study, we investigated the impact of PARP1 inhibition on CTCF/Cohesin binding in Type II latency. We observed destabilization of the binding of both factors, leading to a disrupted three-dimensional architecture of the episomes and an altered viral gene expression. Despite sharing the same CTCF binding profile, Type I, II, and III latencies exhibit different 3D structures that correlate with variations in viral gene expression. Additionally, our analysis of H3K27ac-enriched interactions revealed differences between Type II latency episomes and a link to cellular transformation through docking of the EBV genome at specific sites of the Human genome, thus promoting oncogene expression. Overall, this work provides insights into the role of PARP1 in maintaining active latency and novel mechanisms of EBV-induced cellular transformation.
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes lifelong asymptomatic infection by replication of its chromatinized episomes with the host genome. EBV exhibits different latency-associated transcriptional repertoires, each with distinct three-dimensional structures. CTCF, Cohesin and PARP1 are involved in maintaining viral latency and establishing episome architecture. Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) represents 1.3% to 30.9% of all gastric cancers globally. EBV-positive gastric cancers exhibit an intermediate viral transcription profile known as "Latency II", expressing specific viral genes and noncoding RNAs. In this study, we investigated the impact of PARP1 inhibition on CTCF/Cohesin binding in Type II latency. We observed destabilization of the binding of both factors, leading to a disrupted three-dimensional architecture of the episomes and an altered viral gene expression. Despite sharing the same CTCF binding profile, Type I, II, and III latencies exhibit different 3D structures that correlate with variations in viral gene expression. Additionally, our analysis of H3K27ac-enriched interactions revealed differences between Type II latency episomes and a link to cellular transformation through docking of the EBV genome at specific sites of the Human genome, thus promoting oncogene expression. Overall, this work provides insights into the role of PARP1 in maintaining active latency and novel mechanisms of EBV-induced cellular transformation.
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes lifelong asymptomatic infection by replication of its chromatinized episomes with the host genome. EBV exhibits different latency-associated transcriptional repertoires, each with distinct three-dimensional structures. CTCF, Cohesin and PARP1 are involved in maintaining viral latency and establishing episome architecture. Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) represents 1.3% to 30.9% of all gastric cancers globally. EBV-positive gastric cancers exhibit an intermediate viral transcription profile known as "Latency II", expressing specific viral genes and noncoding RNAs. In this study, we investigated the impact of PARP1 inhibition on CTCF/Cohesin binding in Type II latency. We observed destabilization of the binding of both factors, leading to a disrupted three-dimensional architecture of the episomes and an altered viral gene expression. Despite sharing the same CTCF binding profile, Type I, II, and III latencies exhibit different 3D structures that correlate with variations in viral gene expression. Additionally, our analysis of H3K27ac-enriched interactions revealed differences between Type II latency episomes and a link to cellular transformation through docking of the EBV genome at specific sites of the Human genome, thus promoting oncogene expression. Overall, this work provides insights into the role of PARP1 in maintaining active latency and novel mechanisms of EBV-induced cellular transformation.
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes lifelong asymptomatic infection by replication of its chromatinized episomes with the host genome. EBV exhibits different latency-associated transcriptional repertoires, each with distinct three-dimensional structures. CTCF, Cohesin and PARP1 are involved in maintaining viral latency and establishing episome architecture. Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer (EBVaGC) represents 1.3% to 30.9% of all gastric cancers globally. EBV-positive gastric cancers exhibit an intermediate viral transcription profile known as "Latency II", expressing specific viral genes and noncoding RNAs. In this study, we investigated the impact of PARP1 inhibition on CTCF/Cohesin binding in Type II latency. We observed destabilization of the binding of both factors, leading to a disrupted three-dimensional architecture of the episomes and an altered viral gene expression. Despite sharing the same CTCF binding profile, Type I, II, and III latencies exhibit different 3D structures that correlate with variations in viral gene expression. Additionally, our analysis of H3K27ac-enriched interactions revealed differences between Type II latency episomes and a link to cellular transformation through docking of the EBV genome at specific sites of the Human genome, thus promoting oncogene expression. Overall, this work provides insights into the role of PARP1 in maintaining active latency and novel mechanisms of EBV-induced cellular transformation.
Project description:Our group has previously identified how PARP1 can control EBV latency by: (1) altering the 3D virus chromatin structure [28]; (2) regulating CTCF binding on EBV promoters and supporting the latency expression program [29-32]; (3) repressing the lytic gene expression by binding BZLF1 promoter [33, 34]. To date, the therapeutic effect of PARP1 inhibitors on EBV+ lymphomagenesis has been poorly explored. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether PARP1i was able to counteract EBV-driven tumors in a LCL xenograft model and identify, and confirm, possible mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect. In the present study we demonstrate that PARP1 inhibition restricts EBV-driven lymphoma in vivo, pointing out the oncogene MYC as its functional target. Specifically, PARP1 inhibition reverts the tumor growth and the metastatic potential of EBV+ LCL, inducing a dramatic transcriptional reprogramming. Interestingly, the absence of PARP1 activity causes a decrease in MYC expression, subsequently leading to a dysregulation of MYC-associated co-factors and targets, both in vivo and in vitro. Our findings also corroborate the link between PARP1 and EBNA2 expression, that we previously demonstrated in vitro. Overall, our study strengthens the central role of PARP1 in EBV malignant transformation and outlines the EBNA2/MYC pathway as an additional target of PARP1 regulation in LCL
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that is etiologically linked to several cancers and has been connected to multiple sclerosis. EBV persists in its human hosts through a biphasic replication cycle that depends on three latency stages. Understanding the host mechanisms that contribute to the tight regulation of viral gene expression in the discrete states of latency III, latency II, and latency I is important for developing therapeutic approaches for treating EBV positive cancers. Regulation of the chromatin structure of the EBV genome by cohesin and CTCF plays a role in this latency type switching. However, the function of the cohesin release factor WAPL had not previously been understood. In this study, we employ RNA-seq combined with immunofluorescence analysis to determine that the cohesin release factor WAPL plays a role specifically in inhibiting the expression of the oncogenic latent membrane proteins LMP-1 and LMP-2A. Through a combination of Hi-ChIP and ChIP-qPCR, we uncover that WAPL loss alters the looping interactions within the EBV genome and alters the histone modifications present at the LMP promoter. We propose that EBV coopts WAPL to maintain a latency I state and, without WAPL, leaky expression of the LMP proteins occurs.
Project description:Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that is etiologically linked to several cancers and has been connected to multiple sclerosis. EBV persists in its human hosts through a biphasic replication cycle that depends on three latency stages. Understanding the host mechanisms that contribute to the tight regulation of viral gene expression in the discrete states of latency III, latency II, and latency I is important for developing therapeutic approaches for treating EBV positive cancers. Regulation of the chromatin structure of the EBV genome by cohesin and CTCF plays a role in this latency type switching. However, the function of the cohesin release factor WAPL had not previously been understood. In this study, we employ RNA-seq combined with immunofluorescence analysis to determine that the cohesin release factor WAPL plays a role specifically in inhibiting the expression of the oncogenic latent membrane proteins LMP-1 and LMP-2A. Through a combination of Hi-ChIP and ChIP-qPCR, we uncover that WAPL loss alters the looping interactions within the EBV genome and alters the histone modifications present at the LMP promoter. We propose that EBV coopts WAPL to maintain a latency I state and, without WAPL, leaky expression of the LMP proteins occurs.