Project description:Innate immune responses induce hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), many of which play an important role in antiviral immunity. Viperin, a member of the radical SAM superfamily of enzymes, is the product of one such ISG and it restricts the replication of a broad spectrum of DNA and RNA viruses. However, a general mechanism that explains all the roles proposed for viperin in the innate immune response remains to be defined. Here we report a previously unknown antiviral mechanism, in which viperin represses translation of viral RNA. We show that viperin interacts with the translation machinery and, primarily through its radical SAM enzymatic activity, inhibits global translation during the interferon response by activating the eIF2 pathway. In cell based-infection assays, viperin inhibits viral protein synthesis and viral replication of Zika virus and Kunjin virus. This study illustrates the importance of translational repression in the antiviral response and identifies viperin as a central translational regulator in innate immunity.
Project description:Viruses are known for their extremely compact genomes composed almost entirely of protein-coding genes. Nonetheless, four long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are encoded by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Although these RNAs accumulate to high levels during lytic infection, their functions remain largely unknown. Here, we show that HCMV-encoded lncRNA4.9 localizes to the viral nuclear replication compartment, and that its depletion restricts viral DNA replication and viral growth. RNA4.9 is transcribed from the HCMV origin of replication (oriLyt) and forms an RNA-DNA hybrid (R-loop) through its G+C-rich 5’ end, and this may be important for the initiation of viral DNA replication. Furthermore, interference with RNA4.9 expression drastically reduces the levels of the viral single-stranded DNA-binding protein (ssDBP), and overexpression of ssDBP alleviates the inhibition of viral DNA replication and growth caused by RNA4.9 depletion. We also identified a similar, oriLyt-embedded, G+C-rich lncRNA in murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Knockdown of this lncRNA interferes with MCMV ssDBP expression and viral DNA replication. These results indicate that HCMV RNA4.9 plays an important role in regulating viral DNA replication by coupling oriLyt activity to ssDBP levels, and that this novel activity may be conserved in other betaherpesviruses.
Project description:Retroviral integration is mediated by a unique enzymatic process shared by all retroviruses and retrotransposons. During integration, double-stranded linear viral DNA is inserted into the host genome in a process catalyzed by viral-encoded integrase. However, host cell defenses against HIV-1 integration are not clear. This study identifies -catenin-like protein 1 (CTNNBL1) as a potent inhibitor of HIV-1 integration via association with viral IN and its cofactor, lens epithelium-derived growth factor/p75. CTNNBL1 overexpression blocks HIV-1 integration and inhibits viral replication, whereas CTNNBL1 depletion significantly upregulates HIV-1 integration into the genome of various target cells. Further, CTNNBL1 expression is downregulated in CD4+ T cells by activation, and CTNNBL1 depletion also facilitates HIV-1 integration in resting CD4+ T cells. Thus, host cells may employ CTNNBL1 to inhibit HIV-1 integration into the genome. This finding suggests a strategy for the treatment of HIV infections.
Project description:DUX4 is a germline transcription factor and a master regulator of zygotic genome activation. During early embryogenesis, DUX4 is crucial for maternal to zygotic transition at the 8-cell stage in order to overcome silencing of genes and enable transcription from the zygotic genome. In adult somatic cells, DUX4 expression is silenced and its activation in adult muscle cells causes the genetic disorder Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD). Here we show that herpesviruses actively induce DUX4 expression to promote viral transcription and replication. We demonstrate that HSV-1 immediate early proteins directly induce expression of DUX4 and its target genes including endogenous retroelements, which mimics zygotic genome activation. DUX4 directly binds to the viral genome, promotes viral transcription and genetic depletion of DUX4 by CRISPR/Cas9 abrogates viral replication. Our results show that viruses from alpha-, beta- and gamma-herpesvirus subfamilies induce DUX4 expression and downstream germline-specific genes and retroelements. Herpesviruses activate DUX4 expression in order to induce an early embryonic-like transcriptional program that prevents epigenetic silencing of the viral genome and facilitates herpesviral gene expression.
Project description:The human gamma herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus, infects most adults and is an important contributor to the development of many types of cancer. Essential contributions of viral genes to replication are known but the potential contributions of cell genes to viral replication are less well delineated. A key player is the viral protein Zta (BZLF1, ZEBRA, Z). This sequence-specific DNA-binding protein can disrupt viral latency by driving the transcription of target genes and by interacting with the EBV lytic origin of replication. Here we used an unbiased approach to identify the Zta-interactome in cells derived from a Burkitt’s lymphoma. Isolating Zta and associated proteins from Burkitt’s lymphoma cells undergoing EBV replication, followed by Tandem Mass Tag (TMT) mass spectrometry resulted in the identification of forty-four viral and cellular proteins in the Zta interactome. Of these two were known targets of Zta. The association of Zta with Hsc70 and the contribution that Hsc70 plays to EBV replication mirrors a contribution from HSP70 family members to the replication of other herpesviruses. Conversely, the association of Zta with NFATc2 has no known parallels for other herpesviruses. Zta attenuates the activity of an NFAT-dependent promoter, which shows a potential for dampening the expression of genes regulated by calcium-dependent signal transduction. Indeed, Zta has the ability to affect a feed-back loop limiting its own expression, which would aid viral replication by preventing the toxic effects of Zta overexpression.
Project description:Platelets and megakaryocytes are critical players in immune responses. Recent reports suggest infection and inflammation alter the megakaryocyte and platelet transcriptome to induce altered platelet reactivity. We examined if non-viral sepsis induces differential platelet gene expression and reactivity. Non-viral sepsis significantly upregulated IFITM3, an interferon responsive gene that restricts viral replication
Project description:Interferon-stimulated gene products (ISGs) play a crucial role in early infection control. The ISG zinc finger CCCH-type antiviral protein 1 (ZAP/ZC3HAV1) antagonises several RNA viruses by binding to CG-rich RNA sequences, whereas its effect on DNA viruses is largely unknown. Here, we decipher the role of ZAP in the context of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, a β-herpesvirus that is associated with high morbidity in immunosuppressed individuals and newborns. We show that expression of the two major isoforms of ZAP, the long (ZAP-L) and short (ZAP-S), is induced during HCMV infection and that both negatively affect HCMV replication. Transcriptome and proteome analyses demonstrated that the expression of ZAP decelerates the progression of HCMV infection. SLAM-sequencing revealed that ZAP restricts HCMV at early stages of infection by destabilising a distinct subset of viral transcripts with low CG content. In summary, this report provides evidence of an important antiviral role for ZAP in host defense against HCMV infection and highlights its differentiated function during DNA virus infection.
Project description:Human genetic diversity can reveal critical factors in host-pathogen interactions. This is especially useful for human-restricted pathogens like Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), the cause of Typhoid fever. One key dynamic during infection is competition for nutrients: host cells attempt to restrict intracellular replication by depriving bacteria of key nutrients or delivering toxic metabolites in a process called nutritional immunity. Here, a cellular genome-wide association study of intracellular replication by S. Typhi in nearly a thousand cell lines from around the world—and extensive follow-up using intracellular S. Typhi transcriptomics and manipulation of magnesium concentrations—demonstrates that the divalent cation channel mucolipin-2 (MCOLN2) restricts S. Typhi intracellular replication through magnesium deprivation. Our results reveal natural diversity in Mg2+ limitation as a key component of nutritional immunity against S. Typhi.