Physical and functional interaction between a nucleolar protein nucleophosmin/B23 and adenovirus basic core proteins

We identified nucleophosmin/B23 as a component of template-activating factor-III that stimulates the DNA replication from the adenovirus DNA complexed with viral basic core proteins. Here, we have studied the functional interaction of B23 with viral core proteins. We found that B23 interacts with viral basic core proteins, core protein V and precursor of core protein VII (pre-VII), in infected cells. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that B23 suppresses formation of aggregates between DNA and core proteins and transfers pre-VII to DNA. These results indicate that B23 functions as a chaperone in the viral chromatin assembly process in infected cells.