Expression of a family of complementary-strand transcripts in Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells.

A major family of polyadenylylated cytoplasmic transcripts are expressed from the BamHI A-I region of the Epstein-Barr virus genome, off the strand complementary to that encoding several functions associated with viral replication and the lytic cycle, including the DNA polymerase (BALF-5). These complementary-strand transcripts (the main one is about 4.8 kilobases long), expressed in all cell types associated with Epstein-Barr virus, are present at high levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumors. Sequence analysis of clones that correspond to spliced transcripts in a cDNA library from such a tumor, C15, generates a profile of the main complementary mRNA. It contains at least three AUG-initiated open reading frames, the largest of which could be translated to give a polypeptide of about 20 kDa. Evidence from several types of experiments suggests that conditions which support the up (or down) regulation of transcriptional expression from one viral DNA strand within the relevant region of the genome produce the opposite effect on transcripts from the other strand. The capacity for interference between complementary Epstein-Barr viral transcripts offers a mechanism for control of gene expression that may be related to maintenance of viral latency.