Adenovirus E1B protein

E1B-19k blocks a p53-independent apoptosis mechanism. Without E1B-19k, degradation of both cellular and viral DNA occurs, in addition to premature host cell death during the lytic cycle, thus limiting viral replication.^[3] E1B-19k mimics MCL1, which is a cellular antiapoptotic protein.^[4] In infected cells, the expression of E1A results in the degradation of MCL-1, which normally binds the proapoptotic protein, BAK.^[4] BAK activation induces apoptosis by co-oligomerizing with another proapoptotic protein, BAX. Together, BAK and BAX form pores in the mitochondrial membrane, releasing apoptogenic proteins like cytochrome c.^[3][5] This and other proteins released from the mitochondria lead to activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and the resulting apoptotic program.^[6] However, in adenovirus-infected cells, activated BAK and BAX are sequestered by E1B-19k, preventing the pathway.^[3]

E1B-55k blocks p53 from inhibiting cell cycling and stops it from inducing apoptosis.^[7] Observations show that E1b-55k inhibits activation by p53 by binding a repression domain to it, converting it from an activator to a repressor of p53-activated genes. This stabilizes p53 and causes a large increase in p53 concentration. Additionally, p53 bound to E1B-55k has an affinity for its binding site that is ten times higher than free p53.^[8] Presumably, this increased affinity and concentration of p53 turns the p53-E1B-55k complex into a powerful repressor.^[9]

E1B-55k also forms a complex with E4orf6, a viral protein.^[10] The E1B-55k/E4orf6 complex in infected cells assembles with other cellular proteins to form a ubiquitin ligase complex.^[11] Essentially, the E1B-55k/E4orf6 complex takes over the cellular ubiquitin ligase complexes and gives them viral substrate-recognition subunits.^[9] There are two known substrates for this ubiquitin ligases; p53 and the MRN complex.^[11][12] The MRN complex, if not bound by the E1B-55K/E4orf6 ubiquitin ligase, will treat the ends of the viral DNA like a double-stranded DNA break and the viral DNA becomes ligated into long concatemers of randomly assorted genomes.^[13]

Structural and bioinformatics studies have shown that E1B-55k, which is specific to mammalian mastadenoviruses, has evolved by exaptation from an LH3-like minor capsid protein encoded by atadenoviruses.^[14]

• Oncolytic adenovirus