Browsing by Subject "Epstein-Barr virus"

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    39. Viruses and Schizophrenia: Implications for Pathophysiology and Treatment
    (Oxford University Press, 2018-04) Breier, Alan; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Overall Abstract: The viral hypothesis of schizophrenia posits that viral infections disrupts cortical circuits that give rise to schizophrenia psychopathology. Prenatal viral exposure during key neurodevelopmental periods, either through direct effects on fetal brain or exposure to excessive maternal cytokines and other chemokines, have been implicated. In addition, abnormal activation of dormant neuro-viruses have been linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Activation of dormant viruses has potentially important treatment implication for therapies, such as valacyclovir, that suppress viral activity. Among the viruses that have been mostly frequently associated with schizophrenia include herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The purpose of this symposium is to focus on the role of viruses in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and results of antiviral treatment trials in this illness.
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    Caspases Switch off the m6A RNA Modification Pathway to Foster the Replication of a Ubiquitous Human Tumor Virus
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2021-08-31) Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Yucheng; Maharjan, Yunash; Sugiokto, Febri Gunawan; Wan, Jun; Li, Renfeng; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    The methylation of RNA at the N6 position of adenosine (m6A) orchestrates multiple biological processes to control development, differentiation, and cell cycle, as well as various aspects of the virus life cycle. How the m6A RNA modification pathway is regulated to finely tune these processes remains poorly understood. Here, we discovered the m6A reader YTHDF2 as a caspase substrate via proteome-wide prediction, followed by in vitro and in vivo validations. We further demonstrated that cleavage-resistant YTHDF2 blocks, while cleavage-mimicking YTHDF2 fragments promote, the replication of a common human oncogenic virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Intriguingly, our study revealed a feedback regulation between YTHDF2 and caspase-8 via m6A modification of CASP8 mRNA and YTHDF2 cleavage during EBV replication. Further, we discovered that caspases cleave multiple components within the m6A RNA modification pathway to benefit EBV replication. Our study establishes that caspase disarming of the m6A RNA modification machinery fosters EBV replication.
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    Epstein–Barr Virus MicroRNAs are Expressed in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Correlate with Overall Survival
    (ScienceDirect, 2015-06) Ferrajoli, Alessandra; Ivan, Cristina; Ciccone, Maria; Shimizu, Masayoshi; Kita, Yoshiaki; Ohtsuka, Masahisha; D'Abundo, Lucilla; Qiang, Jun; Lerner, Susan; Nouraee, Nazila; Rabe, Kari G.; Rassenti, Laura Z.; Van Roosbroeck, Katrien; Manning, John T.; Yuan, Yuan; Zhang, Xinna; Shanafelt, Tait D.; Wierda, William G.; Sabbioni, Silvia; Tarrand, Jeffrey J.; Estrov, Zeev; Radovich, Milan; Liang, Han; Negrini, Massimo; Kipps, Thomas J.; Kay, Neil E.; Keating, Michael; Calin, George A.; Department of Surgery, IU School of Medicine
    Although numerous studies highlighted the role of Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) in B-cell transformation, the involvement of EBV proteins or genome in the development of the most frequent adult leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), has not yet been defined. We hypothesized that EBV microRNAs contribute to progression of CLL and demonstrated the presence of EBV miRNAs in B-cells, in paraffin-embedded bone marrow biopsies and in the plasma of patients with CLL by using three different methods (small RNA-sequencing, quantitative reverse transcription PCR [q-RT-PCR] and miRNAs in situ hybridization [miRNA-ISH]). We found that EBV miRNA BHRF1-1 expression levels were significantly higher in the plasma of patients with CLL compared with healthy individuals (p < 0 · 0001). Notably, BHRF1-1 as well as BART4 expression were detected in the plasma of either seronegative or seropositive (anti-EBNA-1 IgG and EBV DNA tested) patients; similarly, miRNA-ISH stained positive in bone marrow specimens while LMP1 and EBER immunohistochemistry failed to detect viral proteins and RNA. We also found that BHRF1-1 plasma expression levels were positively associated with elevated beta-2-microglobulin levels and advanced Rai stages and observed a correlation between higher BHRF1-1 expression levels and shorter survival in two independent patients' cohorts. Furthermore, in the majority of CLL cases where BHRF1-1 was exogenously induced in primary malignant B cells the levels of TP53 were reduced. Our findings suggest that EBV may have a role in the process of disease progression in CLL and that miRNA RT-PCR and miRNAs ISH could represent additional methods to detect EBV miRNAs in patients with CLL.