Herpesvirus papio encodes a functional homologue of the Epstein-Barr virusapoptosis suppressor, BHRF1

The human tumour virus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encodes a 17 kDa protein, B HRF1, which is a member of the Bcl-2 family and has been shown to suppress apoptosis. The role of this gene in the lifecycle of EBV has not been fully elucidated. In order to identify motifs conserved in herpesviruses and pos sibly shed light on its function we isolated a BHRF1 homologue from herpesv irus papio (cercopithecine herpesvirus-12) a closely related gamma-herpesvi rus of baboons. The gene, hvpBHRF1, also encodes a 17 kDa protein which sha res 64% identity and 79% similarity with EBV BHRF1 at the amino acid level. In biological assays, hvpBHRF1 and BHRF1 conferred similar levels of prote ction on human keratinocytes induced to apoptose with cisplatin.