Multiple 5′ ends of human cytomegalovirus UL57 transcripts identify a complex, cycloheximide-resistant promoter region that activates oriLyt

Abstract The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL57 gene lies adjacent to HCMV ori Lyt, from which it is separated by an organizationally conserved, mostly noncoding region that is thought to both regulate UL57 expression and activate ori Lyt function. However, the UL57 promoter has not been studied. We determined the 5′ ends of UL57 transcripts toward an understanding of the potential relationship between UL57 expression and ori Lyt activation. The results presented here identified three distinct 5′ ends spread over 800 bp, at nt 90302, 90530, and 91138; use of these sites exhibited differential sensitivity to phosphonoformic acid treatment. Interestingly, a 10-kb UL57 transcript accumulated in cycloheximide-treated infected cells, even though other early transcripts were not detectable. However, the 10-kb transcript did not accumulate in cells treated with the more stringent translation inhibitor anisomycin. Consistent with the notion that the identified 5′ ends arise from distinct transcription start sites, the sequences upstream of sites I and II functioned as promoters responsive to HCMV infection in transient assays. However, the origin-proximal promoter region III required downstream sequences for transcriptional activity. Mutation of candidate core promoter elements suggested that promoter III is regulated by an initiator region (Inr) and a downstream promoter element. Finally, a 42-bp sequence containing the candidate Inr activated a minimal ori Lyt core construct in transient replication assays. Thus, these studies showed that a large, complex promoter region with novel features controls UL57 expression, and identified a sequence that regulates both UL57 transcription and ori Lyt activation.