Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015:391:181-217.
doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-22834-1_6.

EBV Noncoding RNAs

Rebecca L Skalsky  1 , Bryan R Cullen  2
Affiliations
Review

EBV Noncoding RNAs

Rebecca L Skalsky et al. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2015.

Abstract

EBV expresses a number of viral noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) during latent infection, many of which have known regulatory functions and can post-transcriptionally regulate viral and/or cellular gene expression. With recent advances in RNA sequencing technologies, the list of identified EBV ncRNAs continues to grow. EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs) , the BamHI-A rightward transcripts (BARTs) , a small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) , and viral microRNAs (miRNAs) are all expressed during EBV infection in a variety of cell types and tumors. Recently, additional novel EBV ncRNAs have been identified. Viral miRNAs, in particular, have been under extensive investigation since their initial identification over ten years ago. High-throughput studies to capture miRNA targets have revealed a number of miRNA-regulated viral and cellular transcripts that tie into important biological networks. Functions for many EBV ncRNAs are still unknown; however, roles for many EBV miRNAs in latency and in tumorigenesis have begun to emerge. Ongoing mechanistic studies to elucidate the functions of EBV ncRNAs should unravel additional roles for ncRNAs in the viral life cycle. In this chapter, we will discuss our current knowledge of the types of ncRNAs expressed by EBV, their potential roles in viral latency, and their potential involvement in viral pathogenesis.

Keywords: BARTs; EBERs; Viral noncoding RNA; miRNA target; microRNA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Genomic origin of latent EBV transcripts, including EBV noncoding RNAs (shaded). The noncoding RNAs include the EBERs, miRNAs, BART transcripts, and an EBV snoRNA. The 25 EBV precursor miRNAs are clustered in the BHRF1 and BART regions of the genome
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structural features of select EBV ncRNAs. a EBER1 structure. SL indicates the four major “stem-loops.” b Predicted folding structure of the precursor miRNA for miR-BHRF1-2; highlighted are the mature miRNAs derived from the 5p and 3p arms of the pre-miRNA with their underlined seed sequences that mediate initial interactions between RISC and target mRNAs. C v-snoRNA1 sequence with outlined canonical C/D boxes
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Canonical miRNA biogenesis. EBV miRNAs utilize the cellular miRNA biogenesis machinery and arise from long primary miRNA (pri-miRNA) transcripts in the nucleus that are cleaved into precursor miRNAs (pre-miRNAs) and exported into the cytoplasm. Subsequent cleavage by Dicer yields a miRNA duplex, one strand of which is incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to guide RISC to sites in 3′UTRs of target mRNAs. miR-RISC binding results in translational silencing of the target mRNA
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a EBV miRNAs exhibit full as well as offset seed-sequence homology to human miR-NAs. The seed (nt 2–7) of each mature miRNA is underlined. b EBV can usurp existing miRNA regulatory networks by (i) encoding mimics of cellular miRNAs (see a), (ii) perturbing cellular miRNA expression patterns, and (iii) targeting RISC-accessible sites on cellular RNAs involved in conserved biological pathways (convergent evolution)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Adams BD, Kasinski AL, Slack FJ. Aberrant regulation and function of MicroRNAs in cancer. Curr Biol. 2014;24:R762–R776. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Mozaini M, Bodelon G, Karstegl CE, Jin B, Al-Ahdal M, Farrell PJ. Epstein-Barr virus BART gene expression. J Gen Virol. 2009;90:307–316. - PubMed
    1. Ambros V. The functions of animal microRNAs. Nature. 2004;431:350–355. - PubMed
    1. Ambros V, Bartel B, Bartel DP, Burge CB, Carrington JC, Chen X, Dreyfuss G, Eddy SR, Griffiths-Jones S, Marshall M, Matzke M, Ruvkun G, Tuschl T. A uniform system for microRNA annotation. RNA. 2003;9:277–279. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amoroso R, Fitzsimmons L, Thomas WA, Kelly GL, Rowe M, Bell AI. Quantitative studies of Epstein-Barr virus-encoded microRNAs provide novel insights into their regulation. J Virol. 2011;85:996–1010. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources