Targeting liquid-liquid phase separation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein promotes innate antiviral immunity by elevating MAVS activity.
Nat Cell Biol
; 23(7): 718-732, 2021 07.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1303773
ABSTRACT
Patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 exhibit low expression of interferon-stimulated genes, contributing to a limited antiviral response. Uncovering the underlying mechanism of innate immune suppression and rescuing the innate antiviral response remain urgent issues in the current pandemic. Here we identified that the dimerization domain of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (SARS2-NP) is required for SARS2-NP to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation with RNA, which inhibits Lys63-linked poly-ubiquitination and aggregation of MAVS and thereby suppresses the innate antiviral immune response. Mice infected with an RNA virus carrying SARS2-NP exhibited reduced innate immunity, an increased viral load and high morbidity. Notably, we identified SARS2-NP acetylation at Lys375 by host acetyltransferase and reported frequently occurring acetylation-mimicking mutations of Lys375, all of which impaired SARS2-NP liquid-liquid phase separation with RNA. Importantly, a peptide targeting the dimerization domain was screened out to disrupt the SARS2-NP liquid-liquid phase separation and demonstrated to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and rescue innate antiviral immunity both in vitro and in vivo.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Nucleocapsid Proteins
/
SARS-CoV-2
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Nat Cell Biol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41556-021-00710-0
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