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Originally published In Press as doi:10.1074/jbc.M111354200 on January 11, 2002
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 277, Issue 12, 9982-9988, March 22, 2002
Hepatitis B Virus pX Interacts with HBXAP, a PHD
Finger Protein to Coactivate Transcription*
Meir
Shamay,
Orr
Barak ,
Gilad
Doitsh,
Israel
Ben-Dor, and
Yosef
Shaul§
From the Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of
Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Received for publication, November 28, 2001, and in revised form, January 10, 2002
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ABSTRACT |
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene expression is mainly
regulated at the transcription initiation level. The viral X protein
(pX) is a transcription coactivator/mediator targeting TFIIB for the recruitment of RNA polymerase II. Here we report a novel pX nuclear target designated HBXAP (hepatitis B virus X-associated protein). HBXAP
is a novel cellular nuclear protein containing a PHD (plant homology domain) finger, a domain shared by
many proteins that play roles in chromatin remodeling, transcription
coactivation, and oncogenesis. pX physically interacts with HBXAP
in vitro and in vivo via the HBXAP region
containing the PHD finger. At the functional level HBXAP increases HBV
transcription in a pX-dependent manner suggesting a role
for this interaction in the virus life cycle. Interestingly, HBXAP
collaborates with pX in coactivating the transcriptional activator
NF- B. Coactivation of NF- B was also observed in tumor necrosis
factor -treated cells suggesting that pX-HBXAP functional
collaboration localized downstream to the NF- B nuclear import.
Collectively our data suggest that pX recruits and potentiates a novel
putative transcription coactivator to regulate NF- B. The implication
of pX-HBXAP interaction in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma
is discussed.
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INTRODUCTION |
Study of the interactions of the virus with the host cell
is a promising approach to understand, at the molecular level, how the
virus evades the defense strategies of the cells they infect. Hepatitis
B virus (HBV)1 is a
hepatotropic virus containing a partially double-stranded circular DNA
genome that causes both acute and chronic hepatic injuries. Persistent
HBV infection is strongly associated with the development of
hepatocellular carcinoma (1). The compact 3.2-kbp genome contains
enhancers and multiple promoters that are regulated by the cellular
transcription machinery. HBV encodes a single known regulatory
polypeptide, called pX (or HBx). pX is likely to be an important
regulatory protein since its sequence is conserved among the mammalian
hepadnaviridae members. A debate exists regarding the role of this
protein in the HBV life-cycle, however, it is evident that at least, in
woodchucks, pX plays an essential role in woodchuck HBV infection (2,
3).
At the cellular level pX supports transcription and signaling (for
review, see Ref. 4). pX increases HBV transcription by trans-activating
the viral enhancer-I via the sequence named the E-element (5). This
element binds a number of bZip cellular transcription activators
including cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and
activating transcription factor (ATF) whose binding is
potentiated by the presence of pX (6-8). In addition, pX activates
transcription through NF- B (5, 9-11). pX also interacts with the
general transcription factors (12), consistent with its transcription
coactivation function (13). Interaction of pX with TFIIH was reported
by a number of groups (12, 14, 15). This interaction may be relevant
not only to the role of pX in transcription but also in DNA repair.
Significantly, pX interacts simultaneously with TFIIB and
RNA-polymerase II possibly to facilitate polymerase recruitment to
promoters (16, 17).
In addition to the transcription activators and general transcription
factors a third group of proteins is needed to support transcription,
collectively called coactivators or mediators. TBP-associated factors
(TAFs) belong to this group of proteins. Interestingly, pX supports
transcription in the absence of TAFs (12). In vitro studies
on naked DNA templates revealed that pX functions in a TAF independent
manner. In vivo, pX rescues the temperature-sensitive
phenotype of the ts13 cell line which exhibits growth arrest at
restrictive temperature due to a mutation in TAFII250. In
addition, TBP mutants lacking TAF binding that poorly respond to
activators exhibit wild type activity in the presence of pX, in
vivo (18). Thus, pX can support transcription on chromatinized
template in the absence of some of the transcription coactivators/mediators. While pX may be capable of alone coactivating transcription, it also may act by recruiting specific cellular coactivators. The latter possibility was addressed in this study by
identifying pX-associated cellular proteins.
The two-hybrid screen is a promising experimental approach to
identifying additional pX interacting proteins. The conventional screen, although very powerful, is based on a transcriptional readout,
and may provide spurious data when attempting to identify proteins that
interact with general transcription factors, as pX does. Recently, a
two-hybrid screen which relies on a cytoplasmic signaling event was
described called the Sos Recruitment System (SRS). We utilized this
system and isolated two clones that specifically and repeatedly
interacted with pX in our screen. One of the isolated clones is the
Tat-binding protein 1 that is described elsewhere (19). Tat-binding
protein-1 and its homologues, such as Sug1, are components of the
proteasome 19S regulatory cap particle. These proteins have also been
identified as transcription mediators. The second clone is a novel gene
which we designated HBXAP (hepatitis B virus X-associated protein).
HBXAP is a nucleoprotein of 240 kDa in size that contains a
PHD/leukemia-associated protein finger, a motif shared by a variety of
chromatin-associated proteins (20). We show that pX interacts with
HBXAP both in vitro and in vivo and that this
interaction potentiates the ability of HBXAP to coactivate NF- B.
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EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
Plasmids--
The protocol of the yeast Sos-recruitment
two-hybrid system for screening of a cDNA library for X interacting
proteins was reported elsewhere (19). The initial HBXAP clone isolated
from this screening, designated mini-HBXAP, was used to screen a human spleen cDNA gt11 phage library (CLONTECH).
Two such clones were inserted into pcDNA3 (Invitrogen) to generate
pcDNA3-HBXAP-(1-814 amino acids), nucleotides 1-2444 of
HBXAP open reading frame. The full-length HBXAP was generated by
ligation of an reverse transcriptase-PCR product (nucleotides
2432-3567) that was cloned into EcoRV + XhoI
sites in pCDNA3-HBXAP-(1-814). HA-tag was inserted in-frame of the
HBXAP open reading frame by PCR to generate pCDNA3-HA-HBXAP. The
pSG5-HA-HBXAP was generated by ligation of HA-HBXAP into the BamHI site of the pSG5 vector (Stratagene). HA-mini-HBXAP
was constructed by ligation of the EcoRV fragment of HBXAP
into SmaI-digested pCGN vector. pRSET-HBXAP was generated by
ligation of an EcoRI-HindIII fragment of EST
clone, accession number N91426, into EcoRI + HindIII-digested pRSETb vector (Invitrogen). The HBV plasmid contains two tandem copies of HBV full-length DNA (subtype adw), ligated via the unique EcoRI site. The X-KO HBV mutant was
constructed by generating a stop codon at position 27 of the X gene
(21). The pSG5-HA-pX was generated by inserting an EcoRI
fragment that contains the HA-tag and NcoI site at the
EcoRI site of pSG5 vector, then this construct was digested
with NcoI + BglII and ligated with
NcoI + BglII fragment of the X open reading
frame. pGFP (CLONTECH) and pGL3-control (Promega)
are commercial plasmids.
Cell Culture, DNA Transfection, and RNA Analysis--
HepG2,
293T, MCF-7, Hep3B, and Huh-7 cells were cultured and transfected as
previously described (13). Approximately 8 h before transfection,
2 × 105 and 1.5 × 106 cells were
plated per 3.5 and 10-cm dish, respectively. For reporter assays, each
3.5-cm dish was transfected with a constant amount of 1.5 µg of DNA,
consisting of 0.8 µg of reporter plasmid, expressor vectors as
indicated, and carrier (pBluescript SK). In each case we included empty
vectors with the relevant enhancers to eliminate in vivo
competition. 48 h post-transfection, cells were harvested and
assayed for luciferase activity. All the experiments were repeated at
least three times. Transfection and Northern blot analysis of HBV RNA
was performed as described (21).
Pull-down Assays--
Recombinant GST-X and GST proteins were
produced in Escherichia coli and purified on
glutathione-Sepharose beads, as described previously (22). In
vitro transcription/translation kit (Promega) was used to generate
[35S]Met-labeled HBXAP protein. Recombinant HBXAP was
produced from BL21 cells transformed with pRSET-HBXAP. Bacteria were
lysed by sonication (in buffer containing 50 mM HEPES pH
7.5, 100 mM NaCl, 0.5 mM EDTA, 1 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and 2 µg/ml pepstatin A) followed by a
30-min centrifugation at 15,000 rpm. The supernatant was either used in
pull down assays or purified on nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA)
metal-affinity chromatography matrix (Qiagen). The purified protein was
used to generate polyclonal antibodies. Cell extracts containing
HA-mini-HBXAP were prepared by transfection of pCGN-HA-mini-HBXAP into
293T cells. Forty-eight h post-transfection cells were lysed with
detergent-based lysis buffer (50 mM Tris pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.2% Nonidet P-40, 0.025% deoxycholate, 10%
glycerol, and protease inhibitor mixture (Sigma)). Lysis proceeded for
10 min on ice. Lysates were then centrifuged for 10 min at 13,000 rpm.
Supernatants were collected and stored for further analysis. Binding
reactions were performed in WASH buffer (20 mM Hepes-KOH pH
7.9, 150 mM KCl, 25% glycerol, 1.5 mM
MgCl2, 0.2 mM EDTA, 2 mM
dithiothreitol, and protease inhibitor mixture (Sigma)) at room
temperature for 1 h. Beads were washed extensively with the same
buffer, and bound proteins were separated on SDS-PAGE. In the case of
in vitro translated HBXAP, higher concentrations of salt
were tested, and HBXAP was pulled down at 350 mM NaCl.
Immunoprecipitation and Western Blot Analysis--
For the
coimmunoprecipitation experiments, 10-cm plates (four for each sample)
of 293T cells, were transfected with 2 µg of pGFP-pX or pGFP and 5 µg of pcDNA3-HA-HBXAP expression vectors, and 8 µg of carrier
DNA, as described (13). Cells were harvested, and nuclear extracts were
prepared. Anti-HA monoclonal antibody 12CA5 was bound to Affi-Gel 10 (Bio-Rad) column and incubated for 4 h at 4 °C with the nuclear
extracts. Beads were washed 5 times with WASH buffer and proteins were
eluted and separated on SDS-PAGE, electroblotted, and incubated with
specific monoclonal antibodies, anti-GFP (BAbCO) or anti-HA 12CA5
(Pharmingen), followed by a peroxidase-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG
secondary antibody, and visualized using an ECL detection kit (Pierce).
HBXAP was detected by polyclonal anti-HBXAP antibody (described above), followed by peroxidase-conjugated protein-A (ICN).
Immunofluorescence Microscopy--
COS-1 cells were seeded in
8-well chamber slides, and were transfected with 125 ng of DNA. Cells
were fixed 40 h post-transfection using 4% paraformaldehyde and
treated with 0.5% Triton X-100 for 30 min. Blocking was carried out
with 6% skim milk, 3% bovine serum albumin, and 0.2% Tween 20 in
100% fetal calf serum. Cells were then incubated for 16 h at
4 °C with mouse monoclonal anti-HA antibodies (BAbCO), and goat
polyclonal Affinipure anti-lamin B (Santa Cruz Biotechnology). Reacting
antibodies were visualized with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated
Affinipure donkey anti-mouse and rhodamine (TRITC)-conjugated
Affinipure donkey anti-goat (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories).
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RESULTS |
Isolation of a Novel pX-binding Protein--
Fourteen cDNA
positive clones were isolated by SRS two-hybrid screening for pX
interacting proteins (19). Eleven were similar and one of them was
reintroduced back into the cdc25-2 cells and, as expected, it rescued
the cells in the presence of Sos-X and in a galactose inducible manner
(Fig. 1A), suggesting a
specific Sos-X interaction. This clone was used to isolate the
full-length 5-kbp cDNA from a human spleen cDNA library.
Inspection of the nucleotide sequence revealed that it contains a novel
1189-amino acid long open reading frame that we designated HBXAP. After
HBXAP sequence was deposited to the GenBankTM data base
(accession number AAF61709), three predicted human proteins with
significant relatedness were deposited (accession numbers: XP_006161,
BAA91591, and AAG43114).

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Fig. 1.
HBXAP is a specific pX interacting
protein. A, complementation of yeast cdc25-2 strain
through pX and HBXAP interaction. Yeast cells were transformed with the
prey construct pYes2-HBXAP, and the bait pADNS-Sos or pADNS-Sos-pX and
plated on glucose minimal medium supplemented with the appropriate
amino acids and nucleotides. Transformants were grown at 26 °C,
replica plated onto appropriately supplemented galactose or glucose
minimal plates, and grown at 37 °C. Only transformants expressing
both pYes2-HBXAP and pADNS-Sos-pX, grow efficiently at 37 °C.
B, HBXAP contains a PHD finger. Sequence comparison of a
number of known PHD finger containing proteins, transcription
intermediary factor 1- (hTIF1 ), fetal Alzheimer
antigen (hFALZ), chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein-4
(CHD-4 also named Mi2 ), CHD-3 (also named
Mi2 ), xe169 protein (hSMCX), and retinoblastoma-binding
protein 2 (hRBBP-2), to the putative PHD finger present in
HBXAP. Similarity in sequence is indicated in gray, while
the identical sequences are boxed. The conserved cysteine
and histidine residues are indicated by asterisks.
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HBXAP is a novel protein containing a PHD/leukemia-associated protein
finger motif (640-692 amino acid). Interestingly, the original DNA
fragment that was isolated by SRS two-hybrid, encodes only a short
region encompassing the PHD finger (amino acids 517-742) and will be
referred to as mini-HBXAP. The PHD finger is a
Cys4-His-Cys3 zinc finger found primarily in a
wide variety of chromatin-associated proteins (20) including Trithorax,
Polycomb-like, ALL-1, CBP, p300, MOZ, Tip60, and HAT3.1, a plant
homeobox gene (Fig. 1B). Although the exact function of the
PHD finger is not known it was reported that in the Mi2 corepressor,
the two PHD fingers are essential but not sufficient for interaction
with histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) (23). In addition, HBXAP also
contains two putative nuclear localization signals (amino acids
832-838 and 951-957). The C terminus (731-1189 amino acids) of the
protein is highly acidic, a characteristic feature of potent
transcription activation domains.
HBXAP Is a Ubiquitously Expressed 240-kDa Protein--
To analyze
the HBXAP polypeptide it was in vitro synthesized by a
transcription/translation kit and separated by SDS-PAGE. Unexpectedly,
the [35S]methionine-labeled HBXAP migrates as a 240-kDa
protein (Fig. 2A) far larger
than the predicted 135 kDa. The slow migration of HBXAP was also
confirmed when HA-tagged HBXAP was overexpressed in 293T cells (Fig.
2B). It is possible that highly negative charged acidic
stretches at the HBXAP C terminus are responsible for the slow
migration, although we cannot exclude other possibilities.

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Fig. 2.
Expression of HBXAP. A,
[35S]methionine-labeled HBXAP was synthesized in
vitro using a transcription/translation kit and was fractionated
on SDS-PAGE and exposed to an x-ray film. B, HA-HBXAP was
expressed in 293T cells, the cellular extract was fractionated on
SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted with an anti-HA antibody. C,
extracts as in B were immunoblotted with anti-HBXAP
antibodies. D, four indicated cell lines were analyzed by
immunoblotting for their HBXAP content by employing anti-HBXAP
polyclonal antibodies. E, HBXAP is a nuclear protein. COS-1
cells were transfected with HA-HBXAP and 40 h later cells were
fixed and reacted with mouse monoclonal anti-HA antibody and goat
anti-lamin-B antibody that were visualized with fluorescein
isothiocyanate-conjugated anti-mouse antibody and rhodamine
(TRITC)-conjugated donkey anti-goat.
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To determine the expression pattern of HBXAP, we probed a
CLONTECH Human RNA Master-blot composed of
poly(A)-purified mRNA from 50 different tissues, and found that
XBXAP is ubiquitously expressed. However, we found higher levels of
expression in adrenal and pituitary glands, a lower level in skeletal
muscle and average levels in both fetal and adult liver (data not
shown). As HBV is a hepatotrophic virus, it was reassuring to our
investigation that HBXAP was indeed expressed in this tissue. This
point was confirmed by the presence of HBXAP content in a set of three
liver-derived cell lines by immunobloting with anti-HBXAP-specific
antibodies (Fig. 2D).
HBXAP Is a Nuclear Protein--
To test the cellular localization
of HBXAP COS-1 cells were transfected with an HA-tagged HBXAP
expression vector. After 48 h cells were fixed and reacted with an
anti-HA antibody to detect HA-HBXAP, and anti-lamin B antibodies to
detect the nuclear membrane. HA-HBXAP staining suggested localization
to the nucleus with notable absence of staining in the cytoplasm and
nucleolar structures (Fig. 2E). A similar result was
obtained with the endogenous HBXAP protein that was visualized by
polyclonal anti-HBXAP specific antibodies (not shown). HBXAP was
predicted to localize to the cell nucleus as it contains two putative
NLS sequences. All known PHD finger containing proteins are localized
to the nucleus, although there are reports of cytoplasmic and tight
junction localization in addition to nuclear. Within the nucleus,
PHD-finger containing proteins are either distributed throughout or
localized to nuclear speckles (24). We could not detect HBXAP in
nuclear speckles.
pX Directly Interacts with the PHD Region of
HBXAP--
To further characterize the HBXAP and pX interaction,
recombinant GST-X (Fig. 3A)
was employed to conduct pull down experiments. To this end, the
mini-HBXAP protein containing the sequence isolated in the SRS
two-hybrid screen was HA tagged and expressed in 293T cells. Cell
extracts were prepared and loaded on either fusion GST-X or naive GST
bound columns as a control. Following extensive washes the retained
proteins were eluted, separated on SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted with an
anti-HA antibody. The mini-HA-HBXAP protein bound specifically to GST-X
(Fig. 3B). To rule out the possibility of an indirect
interaction via other unknown proteins the experiment was repeated with
the recombinant mini-HBXAP protein. Here again the mini-HBXAP protein
was specifically retained on the GST-X but not naive GST column (Fig.
3C).

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Fig. 3.
HBXAP interacts with pX in
vitro. A, a Coomassie Blue gel staining
showing the recombinant GST-X and GST proteins. B, extracts
from 293T cells transfected with a plasmid encoding the mini-HA-HBXAP
protein, were used in GST pull-down assays. The eluted proteins were
separated by SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted with an anti-HA antibody.
C, the experiment in B was repeated using the
bacterial recombinant mini-HBXAP proteins instead of an extract from
transfected 293T cells. The eluted proteins were subjected to SDS-PAGE,
and immunoblotted with anti-HBXAP antibodies. D, specific
interaction of GST-X with in vitro synthesized HBXAP
truncations. The [35S]methionine in vitro
synthesized HBXAP truncation mutant (d1-d3) proteins, were
used in GST pull-down assays. The eluted proteins were separated by
SDS-PAGE, and exposed to an x-ray film. E, schematic
presentation of HBXAP and the various deletion constructs that were
analyzed in binding pX.
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The HBXAP PHD Finger Is Necessary but Not Sufficient for pX
Interaction--
As only the mini-protein was isolated in the SRS
screen, it was important to show that the capacity of pX to bind HBXAP
was not restricted to this small fragment. To this end we produced a
set of constructs including the full-length HBXAP along with a number
of deletion mutants. These constructs were in vitro
translated and incubated with the GST-X protein and subjected to pull
down experiments. Here again we recapitulated the interaction with recombinant pX using HBXAP (1-814 amino acids) (Fig. 3D).
However, fragments deleted for the region isolated in the SRS screen
failed to be retained in the eluate by GST-X. Collectively, these data suggest that the region contained in the SRS isolate was necessary for
the pX interaction (Fig. 3E). To investigate the possibility that the PHD finger per se mediates this interaction, a
point mutant of the mini-protein, at the conserved His residue of the PHD finger was analyzed for interaction with pX in the SRS screen. We
found that this mutation did not affect the pX interaction (not shown),
suggesting that the interaction is not mediated by the PHD finger most
conserved residues.
HBXAP Interacts with pX in Extracts of Transfected Cells--
To
examine the interaction between HBXAP and pX in vivo
coimmunoprecipitation experiments were performed. For this purpose we
employed a GFP-pX chimeric construct. pX activity, as assayed by
transcription coactivation, was not compromised when fused to GFP (not
shown). 293T cells were transfected with a plasmid that directed the
synthesis of the HA-HBXAP protein together with either GFP-pX or the
control GFP expressor plasmids. Cell extracts were prepared and level
of the expression of the employed GFP proteins was examined by
immunobloting with an anti-GFP specific antibody (Fig.
4). The same extracts were
immunoprecipitated with an anti-HA antibody and the precipitated
fractions were analyzed by Western blotting using anti-GFP antibody.
Significantly, GFP-pX was coimmunoprecipitated only in the presence of
HA-HBXAP. Furthermore, this interaction was not seen when cells were
transfected with the naive GFP, indicating a specific association
between pX and HBXAP in vivo.

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Fig. 4.
HBXAP interacts with pX in extracts of
transfected cells. 293T cells were transfected with a plasmid
directing the synthesis of the HA-HBXAP protein together with either a
GFP-pX or the control GFP expressor plasmids. Cell lysates were
prepared and analyzed for either GFP-pX or GFP production. The same
lysates were subjected to immunoprecipitation with an anti-HA antibody
and the immunoprecipitates were analyzed by Western blotting using an
anti-GFP antibody.
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pX Collaborates with HBXAP to Support HBV Transcription--
To
look into the functional significance of pX-HBXAP interaction, the
effect of HBXAP on the transcription from the whole HBV genome was
investigated. HepG2 cells were transfected with a head to tail dimer of
genomic HBV DNA, and either with or without the HBXAP expressor
plasmid. The levels of the different HBV RNA species were quantified by
Northern blot analysis. Interestingly, the level of the viral
transcripts, in particular the 0.9-kb short X-RNA, was dramatically
increased in the presence of HBXAP (Fig. 5, lanes 1 and 2).
However, when an HBV mutant (X-KO HBV) that does not express pX (21)
was employed, the effect of HBXAP on HBV transcription was much lower
(Fig. 5, lanes 3 and 4), suggesting a
collaborative action between pX and HBXAP in supporting HBV transcription. This possibility was further demonstrated by
complementation experiments whereby the X-gene expressed from an SV40
vector was provided in trans. Under these conditions the
viral RNA level was significantly increased (Fig. 5, lanes 5 and 6), suggesting that pX supplementation in
trans was sufficient to restore the HBXAP transcription
coactivation activity on HBV transcription.

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Fig. 5.
pX collaborates with HBXAP to
coactivate HBV transcription. HepG2 cells were transfected with
plasmids containing two tandem HBV full-length DNA, either wt
(lanes 1 and 2) or a mutant carrying a stop codon
at position 27 of the X open reading frame (X-KO HBV, lanes
3-6). Cells were co-transfected with increasing amounts of the
pCDNA3-HA-HBXAP and pSG5-HA-X plasmids (lanes 5 and
6). A 32P-labeled HBV DNA probe was used to
detect the known viral transcripts, and a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
dehydrogenase (GAPDH) probe was used to quantify the amount
of RNA per lane. Efficiency of transfection was monitored by GFP as
previously reported (46).
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To demonstrate that the effect of pX-HBXAP is mediated via coactivation
of HBV enhancer we employed the reporter assay. HBXAP only slightly
affected the activity of the luciferase reporter gene under HBV
enhancer-I and pX promoter (25), however, in the presence of pX the
reporter activity was significantly increased (Fig.
6). Thus, HBXAP and pX collaborate to
potentiate HBV enhancer-I by increasing the transcription rate.

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Fig. 6.
Discriminative HBXAP collaboration with pX to
potentiate transcription. A reporter luciferase plasmid (0.8 µg)
under the control of the HBV enhancer-I and the X gene promoter
((R-S)EXp-luc (25)) was transfected into Huh7 cells. pSG5-HA-pX (70 ng/35-mm plate) and pCDNA3-HA-HBXAP (80 ng/plate), were
co-transfected as indicated. In all cases the experiments were
performed in triplicates and the average values with S.D. are
indicated. Fold of activation was calculated by considering lanes
1 as 100%.
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pX Is Required for HBXAP in Coactivating NF- B--
An
additional and well characterized target of pX is NF- B. Therefore,
we investigated the collaborative pX and HBXAP activity in the context
of NF B. An NF- B-specific reporter plasmid was co-transfected with
the HBXAP encoding plasmid either in the presence or absence of pX.
HBXAP alone marginally affected transcription from the NF- B reporter
plasmid (Fig. 7, lanes 1 and
2). In the presence of pX, HBXAP significantly increased
NF- B transcription (Fig. 7, lanes 3 and 4).
This enhancement of transcription is NF- B dependent, as it was not
obtained in the context of a reporter plasmid that carries mutations in
the NF- B-binding site (Fig. 7, lanes 13-16).

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Fig. 7.
HBXAP collaboration with pX to coactivate
NF- B. Luciferase reporter gene under the
control of either wild-type (NF- B-Luc; lanes 1-12) or
mutant (mutNF- B-Luc.; lanes 13-16) NF- B response
elements were transfected into HepG2 cells. Cells were co-transfected
with pSG5-pX (30 ng) and pSG5-HBXAP (200 ng) as indicated. Cells were
treated with 10 ng/ml TNF- for the indicated time points. In each
case the luciferase activity observed in the TNF- -untreated cells
(basal activity) was taken as 100% to calculate folds of activation.
In all cases the experiments were performed in triplicates and the
average values with S.D. are indicated.
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NF- B is sequestered in the cytoplasm by the I B protein. Upon
TNF- treatment, NF- B undergoes nuclear translocation to activate target genes. We wanted to determine whether the effect of the pX and
HBXAP in increasing transcription from the NF- B reporter was via
nuclear translocation of the cytoplasmic NF- B or coactivation of the
nuclear NF- B. We found that pX potentiated NF- B reporter activity
in the presence of TNF- induction at both 10 and 34 h (Fig.
7, lanes 7 and 11). Interestingly, under these
conditions HBXAP represses NF- B transcription activation, and blocks
TNF- effect. Remarkably, in the presence of pX, not only HBXAP lost the capacity to inhibit transcription, but becomes a super coactivator. These data strongly suggest the pX-HBXAP induced NF- B reporter expression occurs at the level of the nuclear NF- B rather than as an
inducer of NF- B translocation. This supports the notion that these
proteins coactivate DNA bound NF- B transcriptional activator.
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DISCUSSION |
Both viral and cellular regulatory proteins participate in
multiple protein-protein interactions. In contrast to other viruses, such as HIV, which encode many regulatory proteins, only a few proteins
control the HBV life cycle. Yet, it has an outstanding capacity to
infect and propagate with an efficiency that by far exceeds that of HIV
as calculated by particle number per ml of serum. Although many factors
might be responsible for this efficacy, we may assume that it is in
part due to pX, the HBV regulatory protein, which has an extraordinary
capacity to perform multiple functions. In this report we provide
evidence for a physical and functional interaction between pX and
HBXAP, a novel cellular nuclear protein with the attributes of a
transcription coactivator. pX, like many other viral regulators,
interacts with cellular proteins to recruit the machinery needed to
support viral propagation and to counteract the cellular defense
systems. A favorable approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms
of HBV-host cell interaction is the characterization of pX target
cellular proteins. Previous biochemical experiments have revealed a
number of pX-interacting cellular proteins that are components of the
transcription machinery. However, none of the pX-interacting proteins
isolated by the two-hybrid screen (26-30), are known components of
this machinery. We hypothesized that the conventional two-hybrid screen
that is based on a transcriptional readout may not be suitable for
identifying transcriptional activators and effectors because the system
may be compromised by pX activity. Given this rationale we utilized the
SRS two-hybrid screen (31) that acts outside the nucleus at the plasma
membrane. Two proteins were isolated, both are nuclear and have the
characteristics of transcription coactivators, one is the Tat-binding
protein 1 (TBP-1) that is described elsewhere (19) and the other HBXAP.
Notably, recently we have identified three HBXAP isoforms designated
, , and . In this study we used the HBXAP isoform that in
comparison to is N-terminal truncated (32). Although the number of
interactions in which pX is engaged is unexpectedly large, these
multiple interactions appear to be a hallmark of viral regulatory proteins.
Experiments were conducted to show that HBXAP is a genuine pX target.
HBXAP physical interaction with pX was demonstrated in vitro
and in vivo. We found that recombinant HBXAP is
preferentially retained on the GST-pX column in a series of pull down
experiments, suggesting that these proteins directly interact. The
observed interaction must be specific and with relatively high affinity as HBXAP that is expressed in transfected cells is selectively retained
by a GST-pX column. Furthermore, these proteins, when expressed in
cells by co-transfection experiments are coimmunoprecipitated. HA-tagged HBXAP that is immunoprecipitated by anti-HA is associated with GFP-pX. Collectively, these data suggest that pX and HBXAP are in
physical and direct contact.
We provide evidence in support of the possibility that HBXAP and pX
physical interaction has a functional significance. We show that HBXAP
collaborates with HBV genome-encoded pX, to support HBV transcription.
Co-transfection of HBV DNA with HBXAP expression vector resulted in an
elevation in the level of the HBV transcripts. As this effect was not
observed in the context of an HBV mutant that does not express pX, we
assumed that pX is required for this process. This possibility was
further supported by the fact that HBXAP activity was recapitulated by
a co-transfected pX expressor plasmid. To gain mechanistic insight on
the functional interaction between these proteins we employed reporter
assays. Interestingly, functional collaboration between HBXAP and pX
was observed in the context of HBV and NF B-derived enhancers.
To date several mechanisms were reported to explain the pX role in
activating NF- B (33-35). Here we provide evidence for the nuclear
pX role in NF- B coactivation. Previously it has been reported that
at least a fraction of pX is localized in the nucleus (17) and that pX
directly interacts with I B , which is able to transport it to the
nucleus by a piggyback mechanism (33). We took this event a step
further to show that in the nucleus coactivation of NF- B by pX is
modulated by a novel transcription coactivator, HBXAP. We have
performed a set of experiments to localize pX function along the
NF- B activation pathway. Given the fact that pX-HBXAP stimulate
NF- B activity in the presence of TNF- , where the majority of
NF- B is nuclear, it is reasonable to localize the effect of this
complex downstream to nuclear translocation of NF- B. Thus, pX-HBXAP
effect is restricted to the DNA-bound NF- B, and therefore displays
the attributes of transcription coactivators.
The finding that HBXAP blocks TNF- -induced NF- B activation is
rather interesting given the fact that some of the well described members of the PHD family, including Trithorax, ALL-1, TIF1, CBP, and
p300, are transcription coactivators. However, a number of studies
indicate that the PHD finger might be involved in transcription repression. The PHD and bromo-domain of KAP-1 form a cooperative unit
with silencing activity. In that case KAP-1, mediated silencing requires association with NuRD and HDAC activity (36). Furthermore, the
PHD finger in context with the bromo-domain of KAP-1 are sufficient to
represses transcription when artificially recruited to DNA via GAL4-DBD
(36). Mi-2 , a PHD finger protein was also reported to interact with
HDAC1, and its two PHD fingers are essential but not sufficient for the
interaction (23). In addition, it was reported that the PHD-like motif
in the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a, represses transcription via the
recruitment of HDAC-1 (37). Collectively, it appears that a number of
PHD proteins are active in transcription silencing and that the PHD
finger via interaction with HDAC is at least partially responsible for this function. Likewise, when we recruited HBXAP to DNA via GAL4-DBD it
represses transcription. Furthermore, the PHD finger of HBXAP as an
independent structural unit has very strong repression activity (32).
The fact that pX interacts with HBXAP in a region containing this
domain might be significant. pX by binding the PHD finger may displace
the associated HDAC corepressor to permit transcription activation, a
switching that we have observed in the context of TNF- -induced
NF- B activation.
PHD containing proteins are often associated with cancer. Their
chromosomal locations are amplified and rearranged in many tumors,
including MOZ in leukemia (38, 39), CBP in acute myologenous leukemia
(40), and ALL-1 in acute lymphocytic leukemia (41). At the moment it is
too early to conclude whether HBXAP is associated with cancer, but
there is evidence in support of this possibility. The region
11q13.4-14.1, where the hbxap gene is located was reported to be amplified in 7-10% of breast cancer (42), amplified, and rearranged in multiple endocrine neoplasia type I syndrome (MEN1) (43),
and B-cells malignancies. We have found the amplification of the
hbxap gene in a few cases of breast cancers that we have analyzed (data not shown). However, since pX is the putative HBV oncogene, the behavior of this genomic locus in hepatocellular carcinomas is of particular interest. Therefore, we found it rather remarkable that 11q13 is amplified in 15% of HBV-positive tumors, but
only a rare event in HCV-positive cases (44). It has been suggested
that this amplification is related to the progression of HBV-infected
HCCs. Interestingly, we have identified in one of the HCC cell lines an
HBV integrant containing a functional enhancer at this chromosomal
locus (45). The possibility that the hbxap gene is indeed
amplified in these HCCs or activated by the integrated HBV sequences is
of highest interest and may shed new light on the mechanism of
oncogenic function of HBV.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
We thank A. Aronheim for the SRS two-hybrid
system and the HeLa cDNA library, Dr. K Schroder for GFP-X plasmid,
Dr. B. Cohen for helpful comments and advice, and S. Budilovsky for
technical assistance.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
*
This work was supported by the MINERVA Foundation, Germany.The costs of publication of this
article were defrayed in part by the
payment of page charges. The article
must therefore be hereby marked
"advertisement" in
accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
The nucleotide sequence(sreported in this paper for the HBXAP
mRNA has been deposited in the GenBankTM/EBI
Data Bank database with accession number(s) AAF61709.
The amino acid sequence of HBXAP reported in this paper can be accessed
through NCBI Protein Database under NCBI accession number
NP_057662.
Present address: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
Philadelphia, PA 19104.
§
To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Molecular
Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Tel.:
972-8-9342320; Fax: 972-8-9344108; E-mail:
yosef.shaul@weizmann.ac.il.
Published, JBC Papers in Press, January 11, 2002, DOI 10.1074/jbc.M111354200
 |
ABBREVIATIONS |
The abbreviations used are:
HBV, hepatitis B virus;
TAF, TBP-associated factor;
SRS, Sos recruitment
system;
PHD, plant homology domain;
GST, glutathione
S-transferase;
TRITC, tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate;
HBXAP, hepatitis B virus X-associated protein;
HDAC, histone
deacetylase;
HA, hemagglutinin;
TNF- , tumor necrosis
factor- .
 |
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