Cytomegalovirus m154 hinders CD48 cell-surface expression and promotes viral escape from host natural killer cell control.

ABSTRACT: Receptors of the signalling lymphocyte-activation molecules (SLAM) family are involved in the functional regulation of a variety of immune cells upon engagement through homotypic or heterotypic interactions amongst them. Here we show that murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) dampens the surface expression of several SLAM receptors during the course of the infection of macrophages. By screening a panel of MCMV deletion mutants, we identified m154 as an immunoevasin that effectively reduces the cell-surface expression of the SLAM family member CD48, a high-affinity ligand for natural killer (NK) and cytotoxic T cell receptor CD244. m154 is a mucin-like protein, expressed with early kinetics, which can be found at the cell surface of the infected cell. During infection, m154 leads to proteolytic deg

SUBMITTER: Zarama A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3953435 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature