Diverse roles for E4orf3 at late times of infection revealed in an E1B 55-kilodalton protein mutant background.

Species C human adenovirus mutants that fail to express open reading frame 3 of early region 4 (E4orf3) are phenotypically indistinguishable from the wild-type virus when evaluated in cells cultured in vitro. However, E4orf3 gene function has been productively studied in the context of additional viral mutations. This study identifies diverse roles for the E4orf3 protein that are evident in the absence of early region 1B 55-kDa protein (E1B-55K) function. In an E1B-55K-deficient background, the E4orf3 protein promotes viral replication by increasing both the burst size and the probability that an infected cell will produce virus. Early viral gene expression is not impaired in E1B-55K/E4orf3 double mutant virus-infected cells. Cells infected with the double mutant virus accumulated concatemers of viral DNA. However, the E1B-55K/E4orf3 double mutant virus did not replicate any better in MO59J cells, in which viral DNA concatemers did not accumulate, than in MO59K cells, in which viral DNA concatemers were produced, suggesting that viral DNA concatenation is not the primary growth defect of the E1B-55K/E4orf3 double mutant virus. Accumulation of viral mRNA in the nucleus and cytoplasm of E1B-55K/E4orf3 double mutant virus-infected cells was severely reduced compared to that on wild-type virus-infected cells. Thus, in an E1B-55K mutant background, the E4orf3 protein promotes the accumulation of late viral RNA and enhances late gene expression. Finally, within the context of an E1B-55K mutant virus, the E4orf3 protein acts to suppress host cell translation and preserve the viability of cells at moderately late times of infection.