Dataset Information

Arginine Methylation Regulates SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Function and Viral Replication

ABSTRACT: Viral proteins are known to be methylated by host protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) playing critical roles during viral infections. Herein, we show that PRMT1 methylates SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein at residues R95 and R177 within RGG/RG sequences. Arginine methylation of N protein was confirmed by immunoblotting viral proteins extracted from SARS-CoV-2 virions isolated by cell culture. We demonstrate that arginine methylation of N protein is required for its RNA binding capacity, since treatment with a type I PRMT inhibitor (MS023) or substitution of R95K or R177K inhibited interaction with the 5’-UTR of the SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA. We defined the N interactome in HEK293 cells with or without MS023 treatment and identified PRMT1 and many of its RGG/RG substrates including the known interactor, G3BP1, and other components of stress granules (SG). Methylation of N protein at R95 regulates another function namely its property to suppress the formation of SGs. MS023 treatment or R95K substitution blocked N-mediated suppression of SGs. Also, the co-expression of methylarginine reader TDRD3 quenched N-mediated suppression of SGs in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, pre-treatment of VeroE6 cells with MS023 significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 replication. With type I PRMT inhibitors being in clinical trials for cancer treatment, inhibiting arginine methylation to target the later stages of the viral life cycle such as viral genome packaging and assembly of virions may be an additional therapeutic application of these drugs.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Fusion

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Permanent Cell Line Cell

SUBMITTER: Stephane Richard

LAB HEAD: Stephane Richard

PROVIDER: PXD025763 | Pride | 2022-02-17

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Publications

Arginine methylation of SARS-Cov-2 nucleocapsid protein regulates RNA binding, its ability to suppress stress granule formation, and viral replication.

Cai Ting T Yu Zhenbao Z Wang Zhen Z Liang Chen C Richard Stéphane S

The Journal of biological chemistry 20210523 1

Viral proteins are known to be methylated by host protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) necessary for the viral life cycle, but it remains unknown whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins are methylated. Herein, we show that PRMT1 methylates SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) protein at residues R95 and R177 within RGG/RG motifs, preferred PRMT target sequences. We confirmed arginine methylation of N protein by immunoblotting viral proteins extracted from SARS ...[more]

PMID: 34029587

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Project description:Arginine methylation is essential for both cellular viability and development and is also dysregulated in cancer. PRMTs catalyze the post translational monomethylation (Rme1/MMA, catalyzed by Type I-III), asymmetric (Rme2a/ADMA, Type I enzymes)-, or symmetric (Rme2s/SDMA, Type II enzymes) dimethylation of arginine. Despite many studies, a thorough integration of PRMT enzyme substrate determination and proteomic and transcriptomic consequences of inhibiting Type I and II PRMTs is lacking. To characterize cellular substrates for Type I (Rme2a) and Type II (Rme2s) PRMTs, human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells were treated with either Type I (MS023) or Type II (GSK591) inhibitors. Using total proteome hydrolysis, we developed a new mass spectrometry approach to analyze total arginine and lysine content. We showed that Rme1 was a minor population (~0.1% of total arginine), Rme2a was highly abundant (~1.1%), and Rme2s was intermediate (~0.4%). While Rme2s was mostly eliminated by GSK591 treatment, total Rme1 and Rme2a were more resistant to perturbation. To quantitatively characterize substrate preferences of the major enzymes PRMT1, PRMT4(CARM1), and PRMT5, we used oriented peptide array libraries (OPAL) in methyltransferase assays. We demonstrated that while PRMT5 tolerates aspartic acid residues in the substrate, PRMT1 does not. Importantly, PRMT4 methylated previously uncharacterized hydrophobic motifs. To integrate our studies, we performed PTMScan on PRMT-inhibited A549 cells and enriched for methylated arginine containing tryptic peptides. For detection of highly charged peptides, a method to analyze the samples using electron transfer dissociation was developed. Proteomic analysis revealed distinct methylated species enriched in nuclear function, RNA-binding, intrinsically disordered domains, and liquid-liquid phase separation. Parallel studies with proteomics and RNA-Seq revealed distinct, but ontologically overlapping, consequences to PRMT inhibition. Overall, we demonstrate a wider PRMT substrate diversity and methylarginine functional consequence than previously shown.

Project description:Multiple myeloma (MM) is a devastating plasma cell malignancy characterized by the expansion of aberrant monoclonal plasma cells in the bone marrow, leading to severe clinical manifestations and poor prognosis, particularly in relapsed/refractory cases. Identifying novel therapeutic targets is crucial to improve treatment outcomes in these patients. In this study, we investigated the role of protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) in MM pathogenesis and explored its potential as a therapeutic target. We observed that PRMT1, responsible for majority of asymmetric di-methylation in cells, exhibited the highest expression among PRMT family members in MM cell lines and primary MM cells. Importantly, PRMT1 expression was significantly elevated in relapsed/refractory patients compared to newly diagnosed patients. High expression of PRMT1 expression was strongly associated with poor prognosis. We found that genetic or enzymatic inhibition of PRMT1 impaired MM cell growth, induced cell cycle arrest, and triggered cell death. Treatment with MS023, a potent PRMT type I inhibitor, demonstrated a robust inhibitory effect on viability of primary cells isolated from both newly diagnosed and proteasome inhibitor-relapsed/refractory patients in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo studies using a xenograft model revealed that targeting PRMT1 by either CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout or MS023 treatment significantly attenuated MM tumor growth and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Histological analysis further confirmed increased apoptotic cell death in MS023-treated tumors. Collectively, our findings establish PRMT1 as an indispensable and novel therapeutic vulnerability in MM. The elevated expression of PRMT1 in relapsed/refractory patients underscores its potential as a target for overcoming treatment resistance. Moreover, our results highlight the efficacy of MS023 as a promising therapeutic agent against MM, offering new avenues for therapeutic approaches in relapsed/refractory MM.

Dataset Information

Arginine Methylation Regulates SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Function and Viral Replication

Publications

Arginine methylation of SARS-Cov-2 nucleocapsid protein regulates RNA binding, its ability to suppress stress granule formation, and viral replication.

Similar Datasets

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