• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Epstein-Barr virus BHRF1 protein protects intestine 407 epithelial cells from apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor alpha and anti-Fas antibody
  • Contributor: Kawanishi, M
  • Published: American Society for Microbiology, 1997
  • Published in: Journal of Virology, 71 (1997) 4, Seite 3319-3322
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.1128/jvi.71.4.3319-3322.1997
  • ISSN: 1098-5514; 0022-538X
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which utilize Fas to induce apoptosis in target cells, are known to play a critical role in the host defense against viral infection. In this study, the Epstein-Barr virus BHRF1 protein was stably expressed in intestine 407 cells which were susceptible to cell death mediated through both the TNF receptor and Fas. WST-1 conversion assays and acridine orange staining showed that vector-transfected control cells were killed by TNF-alpha or anti-Fas antibody in a dose-dependent manner, whereas BHRF1-expressing cells were resistant to apoptosis induced by these mediators. DNA fragmentation, a characteristic of apoptosis induced by TNF-alpha and the anti-Fas antibody, was suppressed in BHRF1-expressing cells. These results indicate that the BHRF1 protein protects cells from apoptosis mediated by the TNF receptor and Fas. The role of BHRF1 as an inhibitor of cytokine-induced apoptosis during the Epstein-Barr virus lytic cycle in vivo is discussed.
  • Access State: Open Access