Objectives
To confirm that Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus openreading frame K9, viral interferon regulatory factor 1 (vIRF1), interacts with splicing factor, translocation liposarcoma protein-associated serine-arginine protein (TASR), <i>in vivo</i> and to establish whether interactions between vIRF1 and TASRs influence alternative splicing.
Methods
Association between vIRF1 and TASRs was confirmed with the glutathione S-transferase pull-down assay and coimmunoprecipitation. Further colocalization was shown by immunofluorescence. The <i>in vivo</i> splicing assay was performed to confirm the alterations in the splicing pattern.
Results
vIRF1 interacts with both TASR1 and 2 <i>in vivo</i>. vIRF1 has been shown to colocalize with TASR proteins in 293 T cells. However, an <i>in vivo</i> splicing revealed no alterations in the splicing pattern via interaction.
Conclusions
The study data suggest that vIRF1 interacts with the TASR protein. However, vIRF1 interactions do not affect TASR-mediated alternative splicing.