Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 1 Is a DNA-Binding Protein with Strong Rna-Binding Activity

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) plays key roles in both the regulation of gene expression and the replication of the EBV genome in latently infected cells. To characterize the RNA-binding activity of EBNA-1, it was demonstrated that EBNA-1 binds efficiently to RNA homopolymers that are composed of poly(G) and weakly to those composed of poly(U). All three RGG boxes of EBNA-1 contributed additively to poly( G)-binding activity and could mediate RNA binding when attached to a heterologous protein in an RNA gel mobility-shift assay. In vitro- transcribed EBV and non-EBV RNA probes revealed that EBNA-1 bound to most RNAs examined and the affinity increased as the content of G and U increased, as demonstrated in competition assays . Among these probes, the 5' non-coding region (NCR) (nt 131 -278) of hepatitis C virus RNA appeared to be the strongest competitor for EBNA-1 binding to the EBV- encoded small nuclear RNA 1 (EBER1) probe, whereas a mutant 5' NCR RNA with partially disrupted secondary structure was a weak competitor. Furthermore, the interaction of enclogenous EBNA -1 and EBER1 in EBV- infected cells was demonstrated by a ribonucleoprotein immunoprecipitation assay. These results revealed that EBNA-1 is a DNA-binding protein with strong binding activity to a relatively broad spectrum of RNA and suggested an additional biological impact of EBNA-1 through its ability to bind to RNA