ABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a devastating global pandemic, infecting over 43 million people and claiming over 1 million lives, with these numbers increasing daily. Therefore, there is urgent need to understand the molecular mechanisms governing SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, immune evasion, and disease progression. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 can block IRF3 and NF-κB activation early during virus infection. We also identify that the SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins NSP1 and NSP13 can block interferon activation via distinct mechanisms. NSP1 antagonizes interferon signaling by suppressing host mRNA translation, while NSP13 downregulates interferon and NF-κB promoter signaling by limiting TBK1 and IRF3 activation, as phospho-TBK1 and phospho-IRF3 protein levels are reduced with increasing levels of NSP13 protein expression. NSP13 can also reduce NF-κB activation by both limiting NF-κB phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. Last, we also show that NSP13 binds to TBK1 and downregulates IFIT1 protein expression. Collectively, these data illustrate that SARS-CoV-2 bypasses multiple innate immune activation pathways through distinct mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/immunology , COVID-19/immunology , Cell Nucleus/immunology , Interferon Regulatory Factor-3/immunology , RNA-Binding Proteins/immunology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Signal Transduction/immunology , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/immunology , Active Transport, Cell Nucleus/genetics , Active Transport, Cell Nucleus/immunology , Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/genetics , COVID-19/genetics , Cell Nucleus/genetics , HeLa Cells , Humans , Interferon Regulatory Factor-3/genetics , NF-kappa B/genetics , NF-kappa B/immunology , Phosphorylation/genetics , Phosphorylation/immunology , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/immunology , RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Signal Transduction/genetics , Viral Nonstructural Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
The ongoing unprecedented severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak worldwide has highlighted the need for understanding viral-host interactions involved in mechanisms of virulence. Here, we show that the virulence factor Nsp1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the host messenger RNA (mRNA) export receptor heterodimer NXF1-NXT1, which is responsible for nuclear export of cellular mRNAs. Nsp1 prevents proper binding of NXF1 to mRNA export adaptors and NXF1 docking at the nuclear pore complex. As a result, a significant number of cellular mRNAs are retained in the nucleus during infection. Increased levels of NXF1 rescues the Nsp1-mediated mRNA export block and inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection. Thus, antagonizing the Nsp1 inhibitory function on mRNA export may represent a strategy to restoring proper antiviral host gene expression in infected cells.