microRNA-155 is an Epstein-Barr Virus induced gene that modulates EBV-regulated gene expression (EBV infection)

The cellular microRNA, miR-155 has been shown to be involved in lymphocyte activation and is expressed in EBV infected cells displaying type III latency gene expression but not type I latency gene expression. We show here that the elevated levels of miR-155 in type III latency cells is due to EBV gene expression and not epigenetic differences in cell lines tested and we show that expression in EBV infected cells requires a conserved AP-1 element in the miR-155 promoter. Gene expression analysis was carried out in a type I latency cell line transduced with a miR-155 expressing retrovirus. This analysis identified both miR-155 suppressed and induced cellular mRNAs and suggested that in addition to direct targeting of 3’ UTRs, miR-155 alters gene expression in part through the alteration of signal transduction pathways. 3’ UTR reporter analysis of predicted miR-155 target genes identified the transcriptional regulatory genes, BACH1, ZIC3, HIVEP2, CEBPB, ZNF652, ARID2, and SMAD5 as miR-155 targets. Western blot analysis of the most highly suppressed of these, BACH1, showed lower expression in cells transduced with a miR-155 retrovirus. Inspection of the promoters from genes regulated in EBV infected cells and in cells infected with a miR-155 retrovirus identified potential binding sequences for BACH1 and ZIC3. Together, these experiments suggest that the induction of miR-155 by EBV contributes to EBV mediated signaling in part through the modulation of transcriptional regulatory factors. Keywords: Gene expression analysis in EBV positive vs EBV negative cells Two RNA preps from the EBV negative Burkitt's lymphoma cell line, BL41, and two RNA preps from EBV converted BL41 cells were prepared. In each two color array, EBV positive BL41s were run with EBV negative BL41s. RNA prep set 1 were run in duplicate, RNA prep set 2 were run in duplicate and all four of these combinations were run as dye swaps for a total of eight arrays.