The Epstein-Barr Virus Immediate-Early Protein BZLF1 Induces Expression of E2F-1 and Other Proteins Involved in Cell Cycle Progression in Primary Keratinocytes and Gastric Carcinoma Cells

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) immediate-early protein BZLF1 mediates the switch between the latent and lytic forms of EBV infection and has been previously shown to induce a G(1)/S block in cell cycle progression in some cell types. To examine the effect of BZLF1 on cellular gene expression, we performed microarray analysis on telomerase-immortalized human keratinocytes that were mock infected or infected with a control adenovirus vector (AdLacZ) or a vector expressing the EBV BZLF1 protein (AdBZLF1). Cellular genes activated by BZLF1 expression included E2F-1, cyclin E, Cdc25A, and a number of other genes involved in cell cycle progression. Immunoblot analysis confirmed that BZLF1 induced expression of E2F-1, cyclin E, Cdc25A, and stem loop binding protein (a protein known to be primarily expressed during S phase) in telomerase-immortalized keratinocytes. Similarly, BZLF1 increased expression of E2F-1, cyclin E, and stem loop binding protein (SLBP) in primary tonsil keratinocytes. In contrast, BZLF1 did not induce E2F-1 expression in normal human fibroblasts. Cell cycle analysis revealed that while BZLF1 dramatically blocked G(1)/S progression in normal human fibroblasts, it did not significantly affect cell cycle progression in primary human tonsil keratinocytes. Furthermore, in EBV-infected gastric carcinoma cells, the BZLF1-positive cells had an increased number of cells in S phase compared to the BZLF1-negative cells. Thus, in certain cell types (but not others), BZLF1 enhances expression of cellular proteins associated with cell cycle progression, which suggests that an S-phase-like environment may be advantageous for efficient lytic EBV replication in some cell types.