The adenovirus E1B-55K transforming polypeptide modulates transport or cytoplasmic stabilization of viral and host cell mRNAs.

The adenovirus type 5 mutant H5dl338 lacks 524 base pairs within early region 1B. The mutation removed a portion of the region encoding the related E1B-55K and -17K polypeptides but did not disturb the E1B-21K coding region. The virus can be propagated in 293 cells which contain and express the adenovirus type 5 E1A and E1B regions, but it is defective for growth in HeLa cells, in which its final yield is reduced about 100-fold compared with the wild-type virus. The mutant also fails to transform rat cells at normal efficiency. The site of the dl338 defect was studied in HeLa cells. Early gene expression and DNA replication appeared normal. Late after infection, mRNAs coded by the major late transcription unit accumulated to reduced levels. At a time when transcription rates and steady-state nuclear RNA species were normal, the rate at which late mRNA accumulated in the cytoplasm was markedly reduced. Furthermore, in contrast to the case with the wild type, transport and accumulation of cellular mRNAs continued late after infection with dl338. Thus, the E1B product appears to facilitate transport and accumulation of viral mRNAs late after infection while blocking the same processes for cellular mRNAs.