Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus open reading frame 50 stimulates the transcriptional activity of STAT3

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an important pathogen in Kaposi's sarcoma and abnormal lymphoproliferation. KSHV open reading frame 50 (ORF50), a homolog of the Epstein-Barr virus immediate-early gene product RTA, activates early and late gene transcription in the KSHV lytic cycle, and its expression is closely correlated with KSHV-related diseases. ORF50 interacts with the cellular proteins CBP and histone deacetylase and represses p53-induced apoptosis through a CBP-related mechanism. We show here that KSHV ORF50 also interacts with STAT3. ORF50 stimulated transcription of STAT-driven reporter genes, and interleukin-6 and v-Sre further activated this stimulating effect of ORF50. Physical association of STAT3 and ORF50 required the carboxyl-terminal transactivation domain of ORF50 and multiple regions within STAT3. ORF50 recruited STAT3 to the nucleus and induced the dimerization of STAT3 monomers in the absence of STAT3 phosphorylation. We show here that KSHV ORF50 activates STAT3-mediated transcription through direct interaction without mediating tyrosine phosphorylation.