Abstract IA14: Noncoding RNAs of viral and cellular origin: Links to oncogenesis

Abstract

Abstract EBER2 is a highly abundant nuclear noncoding RNA expressed by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Probing its possible chromatin localization by Capture Hybridization Analysis of RNA Targets (CHART) revealed EBER2's presence at the terminal repeats (TRs) of the latent EBV genome, overlapping previously identified binding sites for the important B-cell transcription factor PAX5. EBER2 interacts with and is required for PAX5 localization to the TRs. Knockdown of EBER2 or PAX5 decreases EBV lytic replication, underscoring the essential role of the TRs in viral replication, which is known to be linked to the onset of EBV-associated tumors. Recruitment of the EBER2-PAX5 complex is mediated by base pairing between EBER2 and nascent transcripts from the TR locus. The interaction is evolutionarily conserved in the related primate herpesvirus CeHV15 despite great sequence divergence in both EBER2 and the TRs. Using base pairing with nascent transcripts to guide an interacting transcription factor to its DNA target site in chromatin is a previously undescribed function for a trans-acting noncoding RNA. We have uncovered a novel transcript type derived from human protein-coding genes that is represented by thousands of examples genome-wide. These RNAs, which we call DoGs for downstream of gene containing transcripts, are inducible by osmotic stress through an IP3 receptor signaling-dependent pathway, indicating active regulation. DoGs possess long non-coding regions (often >45 kb) and remain chromatin bound. Their levels are increased by decreased termination of the upstream transcript, a previously undescribed mechanism for rapid transcript induction. Relative depletion of polyA signals in DoG regions correlates with increased levels of DoGs after osmotic stress. DoGs may play a role in reinforcing the nuclear scaffold after stress. 1. Lee, N., Moss, W., Yario, T., Steitz, J.A. (2015). An EBV noncoding RNA binds nascent RNA to drive host PAX5 to viral DNA. Cell 160, 607-618. 2. Vilborg, A., Passarelli, M.C., Yario, T.A., Tycowski, K.T. and Steitz, J.A. (2014). Widespread inducible transcription downstream of human genes. Mol. Cell. 59, 449-461. Citation Format: Joan A. Steitz, Nara Lee, Walter N. Moss, Therese A. Yario, Anna Vilborg, Maria C. Passarelli, Kazimierz T. Tycowski. Noncoding RNAs of viral and cellular origin: Links to oncogenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer: Mechanisms to Medicines ; 2015 Dec 4-7; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(6 Suppl):Abstract nr IA14.