Integrated analyses of genome-wide DNA occupancy and expression profiling identify key genes and pathways involved in cellular transformation by Marek's disease oncoprotein, Meq

Marek’s disease (MD) is an economically significant disease in chickens caused by the highly oncogenic Marek’s disease virus (MDV). A major unanswered question is the mechanism of MDV-induced tumor formation. Meq, a bZIP transcription factor discovered in the 1990s, is critically involved in viral oncogenicity but only a few of its host target genes have been described impeding our understanding of MDV-induced tumorigenesis. Using ChIP-seq and microarray analysis, a high confidence list of Meq-binding sites in the chicken genome and a global transcriptome of Meq-responsive genes was generated. Meq binding sites were found to be enriched in the promoter regions of up-regulated genes, but not in those of down-regulated genes. ChIP-seq was also performed for c-Jun, a known heterodimeric partner of Meq. Close location of binding sites of Meq and c-Jun was noted, suggesting cooperativity between these two factors in modulating transcription. Pathway analysis indicated that Meq transcriptionally regulates many genes that are part of several signaling pathways include the ERK/MAPK, Jak-STAT, and ErbB pathways that are critical for oncogenesis and/or include signaling mediators involved in apoptosis. Meq activates oncogenic signaling cascades by transcriptionally activating major kinases in the ERK/MAPK pathway and simultaneously repressing phosphatases, as verified using inhibitors of MEK and ERK1/2 in a cell proliferation assay. This study provides significant insights into the mechanistic basis of Meq-dependent cell transformation. Overall design: Transcript profiling of DF-1 (a chicken embryo fibroblast cell line) and Meq-DF-1 clone 5G (DF-1 stably expressing Meq driven by the CMV promoter) using Affymetrix chicken GeneChips