Viral mimicry: common mode of association with HCF by VP16 and the cellular protein LZIP
Abstract
Upon infection of human cells, the herpes simplex virus protein VP16 associates with the endogenous cell-proliferation factor HCF. VP16 can also associate with HCFs from invertebrates, suggesting that VP16 mimics a cellular protein whose interaction with HCF has been conserved. Here, we show that VP16 mimics the human basic leucine-zipper protein LZIP, which, through association with HCF, may control cell-cycle progression. VP16 and LZIP share a tetrapeptide motif—D/EHXY—used to associate with human HCF. The LZIP-related Drosophila protein BBF-2/dCREB-A contains this HCF-binding motif, indicating that the LZIP–HCF interaction has been conserved during metazoan evolution.
Footnotes
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↵3 Corresponding author.
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[Key Words: HCF protein; VP16; LZIP; protein–protein interactions; transcription]
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E-MAIL herr{at}cshl.org; FAX (516) 367-8454.
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- Received August 25, 1997.
- Accepted September 18, 1997.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
