Letter abstract
Nature Medicine 15, 1312 - 1317 (2009)
Published online: 25 October 2009 | doi:10.1038/nm.2051
Inhibition of the histone demethylase LSD1 blocks 
-herpesvirus lytic replication and reactivation from latency
Yu Liang1, Jodi L Vogel1, Aarthi Narayanan1,2, Hua Peng1 & Thomas M Kristie1
Abstract
Reversible methylation of histone tails serves as either a positive signal recognized by transcriptional assemblies or a negative signal that result in repression1, 2, 3, 4. Invading viral pathogens that depend upon the host cell's transcriptional apparatus are also subject to the regulatory impact of chromatin assembly and modifications5, 6, 7, 8. Here we show that infection by the 
-herpesviruses, herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV), results in the rapid accumulation of chromatin bearing repressive histone H3 Lys9 methylation. To enable expression of viral immediate early (IE) genes, both viruses use the cellular transcriptional coactivator host cell factor-1 (HCF-1) to recruit the lysine-specific demethylase-1 (LSD1) to the viral immediate early promoters. Depletion of LSD1 or inhibition of its activity with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) results in the accumulation of repressive chromatin and a block to viral gene expression. As HCF-1 is a component of the Set1 and MLL1 histone H3 Lys4 methyltransferase complexes9, 10, it thus coordinates modulation of repressive H3 Lys9 methylation levels with addition of activating H3 Lys4 trimethylation marks. Strikingly, MAOIs also block the reactivation of HSV from latency in sensory neurons, indicating that the HCF-1 complex is a crucial component of the reactivation mechanism. The results support pharmaceutical control of histone modifying enzymes as a strategy for controlling herpesvirus infections.
- Molecular Genetics Section, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
- Present address: George Mason University, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Manassas, Virginia, USA.
Correspondence to: Thomas M Kristie1 e-mail: thomas_kristie@nih.gov
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