Protein S-Nitrosylation of host and viral proteins upon fibroblast infection with Human Cytomegalovirus

ABSTRACT: Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen that has co-evolved with its host and in doing so, is highly efficient in undermining antiviral responses that limit successful infections. As a result, HCMV infections are highly problematic in individuals with weakened or underdeveloped immune systems including transplant recipients and newborns. Understanding how HCMV controls the microenvironment of an infected cell so as to favor productive replication is of critical importance. To this end, we took an unbiased proteomics approach to identify the highly reversible, stress induced, post-translational modification (PTM), protein S-nitrosylation, on viral proteins to determine the biological impact on viral replication. We identified protein S-nitrosylation of 13 viral proteins during infection of highly permissive fibroblasts. One of these proteins, pp71, is critical for efficient viral replication, as it undermines host antiviral responses, including STING activation. By exploiting site-directed mutagenesis of the specific amino acids we identified in pp71 as protein S-nitrosylated, we found this pp71 PTM diminishes its ability to undermine antiviral responses induced by the STING pathway. Our results suggest a model in which protein S-nitrosylation may function as a host response to viral infection that limits viral spread.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Skin, Fibroblast

SUBMITTER: Ebbing de Jong  

LAB HEAD: Eain Murphy

PROVIDER: PXD019208 | Pride | 2020-07-03

REPOSITORIES: Pride