E, XiaofeiHwang, SeungminOh, SoohwanLee, Jong-SooJeong, Joseph H.Gwack, YousangKowalik, Timothy F.Sun, RenLiang, ChengyuStevenson, Philip G.Jung, Jae Ung2011-05-082009E, Xiaofei, Seungmin Hwang, Soohwan Oh, Jong-Soo Lee, Joseph H. Jeong, Yousang Gwack, Timothy F. Kowalik, Ren Sun, Jae U. Jung, and Chengyu Liang. 2009. Viral Bcl-2-mediated evasion of autophagy aids chronic infection of γHerpesvirus 68. PLoS Pathogens 5(10).1553-7366http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4882983γ-herpesviruses (γHVs) have developed an interaction with their hosts wherein they establish a life-long persistent infection and are associated with the onset of various malignancies. One critical virulence factor involved in the persistency of murine γ-herpesvirus 68 (γHV68) is the viral homolog of the Bcl-2 protein (vBcl-2), which has been implicated to counteract both host apoptotic responses and autophagy pathway. However, the relative significance of the two activities of vBcl-2 in viral persistent infection has yet to be elucidated. Here, by characterizing a series of loss-of-function mutants of vBcl-2, we have distinguished the vBcl-2-mediated antagonism of autophagy from the vBcl-2-mediated inhibition of apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. A mutant γHV68 virus lacking the anti-autophagic activity of vBcl-2 demonstrates an impaired ability to maintain chronic infections in mice, whereas a mutant virus lacking the anti-apoptotic activity of vBcl-2 establishes chronic infections as efficiently as the wild-type virus but displays a compromised ability for ex vivo reactivation. Thus, the vBcl-2-mediated antagonism of host autophagy constitutes a novel mechanism by which γHVs confer persistent infections, further underscoring the importance of autophagy as a critical host determinant in the in vivo latency of γ-herpesviruses.en-UScell biologymicrobiologymolecular biologyvirologyJournal Article2011-05-0810.1371/journal.ppat.1000609