Herpesvirus Telomerase RNA(vTR)-Dependent Lymphoma Formation Does Not Require Interaction of vTR with Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT)

Abstract

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex involved in the maintenance of telomeres, a protective structure at the distal ends of chromosomes. The enzyme complex contains two main components, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), the catalytic subunit, and telomerase RNA (TR), which serves as a template for the addition of telomeric repeats (TTAGGG) _n. Marek's disease virus (MDV), an oncogenic herpesvirus inducing fatal lymphoma in chickens, encodes a TR homologue, viral TR (vTR), which significantly contributes to MDV-induced lymphomagenesis. As recent studies have suggested that TRs possess functions independently of telomerase activity, we investigated if the tumor-promoting properties of MDV vTR are dependent on formation of a functional telomerase complex. The P6.1 stem-loop of TR is known to mediate TR-TERT complex formation and we show here that interaction of vTR with TERT and, consequently, telomerase activity was efficiently abrogated by the disruption of the vTR P6.1 stem-loop (P6.1mut). Recombinant MDV carrying the P6.1mut stem-loop mutation were generated and tested for their behavior in the natural host in vivo. In contrast to viruses lacking vTR, all animals infected with the P6.1mut viruses developed MDV-induced lymphomas, but onset of tumor formation was significantly delayed. P6.1mut viruses induced enhanced metastasis, indicating functionality of non-complexed vTR in tumor dissemination. We discovered that RPL22, a cellular factor involved in T-cell development and virus-induced transformation, directly interacts with wild-type and mutant vTR and is, consequently, relocalized to the nucleoplasm. Our study provides the first evidence that expression of TR, in this case encoded by a herpesvirus, is pro-oncogenic in the absence of telomerase activity.

Author Summary

The enzyme complex telomerase, with its two main components telomerase reverse transcriptase and telomerase RNA, plays an important role in telomere maintenance. Perturbation of telomere length regulation can ultimately result in cellular senescence (telomere shortening) and is also observed in tumor cells (increased telomere maintenance). Recent studies suggest telomerase RNAs can function independently of the telomerase complex and promote tumor development independently of telomere maintenance. Here we demonstrate that vTR, a herpesvirus-encoded telomerase RNA, serves two distinct functions in MDV-induced tumor formation. vTR has its first function early after infection, when it is part of the telomerase complex and contributes to the survival of rapidly dividing transformed cells. The second function of vTR is independent of telomerase action and essential for formation of solid lymphomas and metastasis. This latter function is likely a consequence of vTR-mediated gene regulation that is at least in part controlled by its interaction with and relocalization of RPL22, a cellular factor involved in T-cell development and virus-induced transformation. Taken together, our study demonstrates that telomerase RNA encoded by a herpesvirus is directly involved in tumor formation in vivo in a fashion that is largely independent of its function within an active telomerase complex.