Mitophagy antagonism by ZIKV reveals Ajuba as a regulator of PINK1 signaling, PKR-dependent inflammation, and viral invasion of tissues.

Dysregulated inflammation dominated by chemokine expression is a key feature of disease following infection with the globally important human pathogens Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus, but a mechanistic understanding of how pro-inflammatory responses are initiated is lacking. Mitophagy is a quality-control mechanism that regulates innate immune signaling and cytokine production through selective degradation of damaged mitochondria. Here, we demonstrate that ZIKV nonstructural protein 5 (NS5) antagonizes mitophagy by binding to the host protein Ajuba and preventing its translocation to depolarized mitochondria where it is required for PINK1 activation and downstream signaling. Consequent mitophagy suppression amplifies the production of pro-inflammatory chemokines through protein kinase R (PKR) sensing of mitochondrial RNA. In Ajuba-/- mice, ZIKV induces early expression of pro-inflammatory chemokines associated with significantly enhanced dissemination to tissues. This work identifies Ajuba as a critical regulator of mitophagy and demonstrates a role for mitophagy in limiting systemic inflammation following infection by globally important human viruses.

Regulation of type I interferon: It's HIP to be K2.

Uncontrolled expression of type I interferon (IFN-I) drives autoimmunity, necessitating the need for tight regulation. In this issue, Cao et al reveal a role for the kinase HIPK2 in the transcriptional control of IFN-I during antiviral immune responses.

s8ORF2 protein of infectious salmon anaemia virus is a RNA-silencing suppressor and interacts with Salmon salar Mov10 (SsMov10) of the host RNAi machinery.

The infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is a piscine virus, a member of Orthomyxoviridae family. It encodes at least 10 proteins from eight negative-strand RNA segments. Since ISAV belongs to the same virus family as Influenza A virus, with similarities in protein functions, they may hence be characterised by analogy. Like NS1 protein of Influenza A virus, s8ORF2 of ISAV is implicated in interferon antagonism and RNA-binding functions. In this study, we investigated the role of s8ORF2 in RNAi suppression in a well-established Agrobacterium transient suppression assay in stably silenced transgenic Nicotiana xanthi. In addition, s8ORF2 was identified as a novel interactor with SsMov10, a key molecule responsible for RISC assembly and maturation in the RNAi pathway. This study thus sheds light on a novel route undertaken by viral proteins in promoting viral growth, using the host RNAi machinery.

A Systems Approach Reveals MAVS Signaling in Myeloid Cells as Critical for Resistance to Ebola Virus in Murine Models of Infection.

The unprecedented 2013-2016 outbreak of Ebola virus (EBOV) resulted in over 11,300 human deaths. Host resistance to RNA viruses requires RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) signaling through the adaptor protein, mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), but the role of RLR-MAVS in orchestrating anti-EBOV responses in vivo is not known. Here we apply a systems approach to MAVS-/- mice infected with either wild-type or mouse-adapted EBOV. MAVS controlled EBOV replication through the expression of IFNα, regulation of inflammatory responses in the spleen, and prevention of cell death in the liver, with macrophages implicated as a major cell type influencing host resistance. A dominant role for RLR signaling in macrophages was confirmed following conditional MAVS deletion in LysM+ myeloid cells. These findings reveal tissue-specific MAVS-dependent transcriptional pathways associated with resistance to EBOV, and they demonstrate that EBOV adaptation to cause disease in mice involves changes in two distinct events, RLR-MAVS antagonism and suppression of RLR-independent IFN-I responses.

Zika Virus Targets Human STAT2 to Inhibit Type I Interferon Signaling.

The ongoing epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV) illustrates the importance of flaviviruses as emerging human pathogens. All vector-borne flaviviruses studied thus far have to overcome type I interferon (IFN) to replicate and cause disease in vertebrates. The mechanism(s) by which ZIKV antagonizes IFN signaling is unknown. Here, we report that the nonstructural protein NS5 of ZIKV and other flaviviruses examined could suppress IFN signaling, but through different mechanisms. ZIKV NS5 expression resulted in proteasomal degradation of the IFN-regulated transcriptional activator STAT2 from humans, but not mice, which may explain the requirement for IFN deficiency to observe ZIKV-induced disease in mice. The mechanism of ZIKV NS5 resembles dengue virus (DENV) NS5 and not its closer relative, Spondweni virus (SPOV). However, unlike DENV, ZIKV did not require the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR4 to induce STAT2 degradation. Hence, flavivirus NS5 proteins exhibit a remarkable functional convergence in IFN antagonism, albeit by virus-specific mechanisms.

The miRNA miR-34a enhances HIV-1 replication by targeting PNUTS/PPP1R10, which negatively regulates HIV-1 transcriptional complex formation.

HIV-1 relies heavily on the host cellular machinery for its replication. During infection, HIV-1 is known to modulate the host-cell miRNA profile. One of the miRNAs, miR-34a, is up-regulated by HIV-1 in T-cells as suggested by miRNA microarray studies. However, the functional consequences and the mechanism behind this phenomenon were not explored. The present study shows that HIV-1 enhances miR-34a in a time-dependent manner in T-cells. Our overexpression and knockdown-based experimental results suggest that miR-34a promotes HIV-1 replication in T-cells. Hence, there is a positive feedback loop between miR-34a and HIV-1 replication. We show that the mechanism of action of miR-34a in HIV-1 replication involves a cellular protein, the phosphatase 1 nuclear-targeting subunit (PNUTS). PNUTS expression levels decrease with the progression of HIV-1 infection in T-cells. Also, the overexpression of PNUTS potently inhibits HIV-1 replication in a dose-dependent manner. We report for the first time that PNUTS negatively regulates HIV-1 transcription by inhibiting the assembly of core components of the transcription elongation factor P-TEFb, i.e. cyclin T1 and CDK9. Thus, HIV-1 increases miR-34a expression in cells to overcome the inhibitory effect of PNUTS on HIV-1 transcription. So, the present study provides new mechanistic details with regard to our understanding of a complex interplay between miR-34a and the HIV-1 transcription machinery involving PNUTS.

The 7a accessory protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus acts as an RNA silencing suppressor.

RNA silencing suppressors (RSSs) are well studied for plant viruses but are not well defined to date for animal viruses. Here, we have identified an RSS from a medically important positive-sense mammalian virus, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The viral 7a accessory protein suppressed both transgene and virus-induced gene silencing by reducing the levels of small interfering RNA (siRNA). The suppression of silencing was analyzed by two independent assays, and the middle region (amino acids [aa] 32 to 89) of 7a was responsible for suppression. Finally, the RNA suppression property and the enhancement of heterologous replicon activity by the 7a protein were confirmed for animal cell lines.