Virion-wide protein interactions of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

Herpesvirus virions are highly organized structures built through specific protein-protein interactions. Thus, revelation of the protein interactions among virion proteins will shed light on the processes and the mechanisms of virion formation. Recently, we identified 24 virion proteins of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), using a proteomic approach (F. X. Zhu et al., J. Virol. 79:800-811, 2005). In the current study, a comprehensive analysis of protein-protein interaction between KSHV virion proteins was carried out using yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) approaches. Every pairwise combination between KSHV tegument and capsid proteins, between tegument and envelope proteins, and among tegument proteins was tested for possible binary interaction. Thirty-seven protein-protein interactions were identified by both Y2H and co-IP analyses. The results revealed interactions between tegument and capsid proteins such as that of open reading frame 64 (ORF64) with ORF25 (major capsid protein [MCPI), ORF62 (triplex-1 [TRI-1]), and ORF26 (TRI-2). Many interactions were detected among the tegument proteins. ORF64 was found to interact with several tegument proteins including ORF11, ORF21, ORF33, ORF45, ORF63, ORF75, and ORF64 itself, suggesting that ORF64 may serve as a hub protein and play a role in recruiting tegument proteins during tegumentation and virion assembly. Our investigation also revealed redundant interactions between tegument proteins and envelope glycoproteins. These interactions are believed to contribute to final envelopment in virion assembly. Overall, this study allows us to establish a virion-wide protein interaction map, which provides insight into the architecture of the KSHV virion and sets up a foundation for exploring the functions of these proteins in viral particle assembly.