Evasion of NKG2D-mediated cytotoxic immunity by sarbecoviruses.

ABSTRACT: SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses continue to threaten humanity, highlighting the need to characterize common mechanisms of viral immune evasion for pandemic preparedness. Cytotoxic lymphocytes are vital for antiviral immunity and express NKG2D, an activating receptor conserved among mammals that recognizes infection-induced stress ligands (e.g., MIC-A/B). We found that SARS-CoV-2 evades NKG2D recognition by surface downregulation of MIC-A/B via shedding, observed in human lung tissue and COVID-19 patient serum. Systematic testing of SARS-CoV-2 proteins revealed that ORF6, an accessory protein uniquely conserved among sarbecoviruses, was responsible for MIC-A/B downregulation via shedding. Further investigation demonstrated that natural killer (NK) cells efficiently killed SARS-CoV-2-inf

SUBMITTER: Hartmann JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11088510 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature