scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 exploits host DGAT and ADRP for efficient replication

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuofeng Yuan ◽  
Bingpeng Yan ◽  
Jianli Cao ◽  
Zi-Wei Ye ◽  
Ronghui Liang ◽  
...  

AbstractCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is predominantly a respiratory tract infection that significantly rewires the host metabolism. Here, we monitored a cohort of COVID-19 patients’ plasma lipidome over the disease course and identified triacylglycerol (TG) as the dominant lipid class present in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced metabolic dysregulation. In particular, we pinpointed the lipid droplet (LD)-formation enzyme diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) and the LD stabilizer adipocyte differentiation-related protein (ADRP) to be essential host factors for SARS-CoV-2 replication. Mechanistically, viral nucleo capsid protein drives DGAT1/2 gene expression to facilitate LD formation and associates with ADRP on the LD surface to complete the viral replication cycle. DGAT gene depletion reduces SARS-CoV-2 protein synthesis without compromising viral genome replication/transcription. Importantly, a cheap and orally available DGAT inhibitor, xanthohumol, was found to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication and the associated pulmonary inflammation in a hamster model. Our findings not only uncovered the mechanistic role of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein to exploit LDs-oriented network for heightened metabolic demand, but also the potential to target the LDs-synthetase DGAT and LDs-stabilizer ADRP for COVID-19 treatment.

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Sun ◽  
Serban L. Ilca ◽  
Juha T. Huiskonen ◽  
Minna M. Poranen

ABSTRACTDouble-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses package several RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRp) together with their dsRNA genome into an icosahedral protein capsid known as the polymerase complex. This structure is highly conserved among dsRNA viruses but is not found in any other virus group. RdRp subunits typically interact directly with the main capsid proteins, close to the 5-fold symmetric axes, and perform viral genome replication and transcription within the icosahedral protein shell. In this study, we utilizedPseudomonasphage Φ6, a well-established virus self-assembly model, to probe the potential roles of the RdRp in dsRNA virus assembly. We demonstrated that Φ6 RdRp accelerates the polymerase complex self-assembly process and contributes to its conformational stability and integrity. We highlight the role of specific amino acid residues on the surface of the RdRp in its incorporation during the self-assembly reaction. Substitutions of these residues reduce RdRp incorporation into the polymerase complex during the self-assembly reaction. Furthermore, we determined that the overall transcription efficiency of the Φ6 polymerase complex increased when the number of RdRp subunits exceeded the number of genome segments. These results suggest a mechanism for RdRp recruitment in the polymerase complex and highlight its novel role in virion assembly, in addition to the canonical RNA transcription and replication functions.IMPORTANCEDouble-stranded RNA viruses infect a wide spectrum of hosts, including animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Yet genome replication mechanisms of these viruses are conserved. During the infection cycle, a proteinaceous capsid, the polymerase complex, is formed. An essential component of this capsid is the viral RNA polymerase that replicates and transcribes the enclosed viral genome. The polymerase complex structure is well characterized for many double-stranded RNA viruses. However, much less is known about the hierarchical molecular interactions that take place in building up such complexes. Using the bacteriophage Φ6 self-assembly system, we obtained novel insights into the processes that mediate polymerase subunit incorporation into the polymerase complex for generation of functional structures. The results presented pave the way for the exploitation and engineering of viral self-assembly processes for biomedical and synthetic biology applications. An understanding of viral assembly processes at the molecular level may also facilitate the development of antivirals that target viral capsid assembly.


Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameera Patel ◽  
Alessandro Sinigaglia ◽  
Luisa Barzon ◽  
Matteo Fassan ◽  
Florian Sparber ◽  
...  

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-transmitted flavivirus which causes encephalitis especially in elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Previous studies have suggested the protective role of the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) pathway against WNV entry into the brain, while the WNV non-structural protein 1 (NS1) interferes with the TLR3 signaling pathway, besides being a component of viral genome replication machinery. In this study, we investigated whether immunization with NS1 could protect against WNV neuroinvasion in the context of TLR3 deficiency. We immunized mice with either an intact or deleted TLR3 system (TLR3KO) with WNV envelope glycoprotein (gE) protein, NS1, or a combination of gE and NS1. Immunization with gE or gE/NS1, but not with NS1 alone, induced WNV neutralizing antibodies and protected against WNV brain invasion and inflammation. The presence of intact TLR3 signaling had no apparent effect on WNV brain invasion. However, mock-immunized TLR3KO mice had higher inflammatory cell invasion upon WNV brain infection than NS1-immunized TLR3KO mice and wild type mice. Thus, immunization against NS1 may reduce brain inflammation in a context of TLR3 signaling deficiency.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1155
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Zheng ◽  
Zeyu Sun ◽  
Liang Yu ◽  
Danrong Shi ◽  
Miaojin Zhu ◽  
...  

SARS-CoV-2 infection has caused a global pandemic that has severely damaged both public health and the economy. The nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 is multifunctional and plays an important role in ribonucleocapsid formation and viral genome replication. In order to elucidate its functions, interaction partners of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein in human cells were identified via affinity purification and mass spectrometry. We identified 160 cellular proteins as interaction partners of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein in HEK293T and/or Calu-3 cells. Functional analysis revealed strong enrichment for ribosome biogenesis and RNA-associated processes, including ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis, ribosomal large and small subunits biogenesis, RNA binding, catalysis, translation and transcription. Proteins related to virus defence responses, including MOV10, EIF2AK2, TRIM25, G3BP1, ZC3HAV1 and ZCCHC3 were also identified in the N protein interactome. This study comprehensively profiled the viral–host interactome of the SARS-CoV-2 N protein in human cells, and the findings provide the basis for further studies on the pathogenesis and antiviral strategies for this emerging infection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masashi Arakawa ◽  
Eiji Morita

Some single-stranded positive-sense RNA [ssRNA(+)] viruses, including Flavivirus, generate specific organelle-like structures in the host endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These structures are called virus replication organelles and consist of two distinct subdomains, the vesicle packets (VPs) and the convoluted membranes (CMs). The VPs are clusters of small vesicle compartments and are considered to be the site of viral genome replication. The CMs are electron-dense amorphous structures observed in proximity to the VPs, but the exact roles of CMs are mostly unknown. Several recent studies have revealed that flaviviruses recruit several host factors that are usually used for the biogenesis of other conventional organelles and usurp their function to generate virus replication organelles. In the current review, we summarize recent studies focusing on the role of host factors in the formation of virus replication organelles and discuss how these intricate membrane structures are organized.


2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Piirsoo ◽  
Martin Kala ◽  
Eve Sankovski ◽  
Mart Ustav ◽  
Marko Piirsoo

ABSTRACT The life cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) comprises three distinct phases of DNA replication: initial amplification, maintenance of the genome copy number at a constant level, and vegetative amplification. The viral helicase E1 is one of the factors required for the initiation of HPV genome replication. However, the functions of the E1 protein during other phases of the viral life cycle are largely uncharacterized. Here, we studied the role of the HPV18 E1 helicase in three phases of viral genome replication by downregulating E1 expression using RNA interference or inducing degradation of the E1 protein via inhibition of casein kinase 2α expression or catalytic activity. We generated a novel modified HPV18 genome expressing Nanoluc and tagged E1 and E2 proteins and created several stable HPV18-positive cell lines. We showed that, in contrast to initial amplification of the HPV18 genome, other phases of viral genome replication involve also an E1-independent mechanism. We characterize two distinct populations of HPV18 replicons existing during the maintenance and vegetative amplification phases. We show that a subset of these replicons, including viral genome monomers, replicate in an E1-dependent manner, while some oligomeric forms of the HPV18 genome replicate independently of E1 function. IMPORTANCE Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections pose serious medical problem. To date, there are no HPV-specific antivirals available due to poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms of virus infection cycle. The infection cycle of HPV involves initial amplification of the viral genomes and maintenance of the viral genomes with a constant copy number, followed by another round of viral genome amplification and new viral particle formation. The viral protein E1 is critical for the initial amplification of the viral genome. However, E1 involvement in other phases of the viral life cycle has remained controversial. In the present study, we show that at least two different replication modes of the HPV18 genome are undertaken simultaneously during the maintenance and vegetative amplification phases, i.e., replication of the majority of the HPV18 genome proceeds under the control of the host cell replication machinery without E1 function, whereas a minority of the genome replicates in an E1-dependent manner.


2014 ◽  
Vol 122 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Chatzigeorgiou ◽  
R Garcia-Martin ◽  
KJ Chung ◽  
I Alexaki ◽  
A Klotzsche-von Ameln ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Margarita Barriga ◽  
Raquel Benitez ◽  
Viviane Ferraz‐de‐Paula ◽  
Marina Garcia‐Frutos ◽  
Marta Caro ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dasol Kim ◽  
Hui-Yun Hwang ◽  
Eun Sun Ji ◽  
Jin Young Kim ◽  
Jong Shin Yoo ◽  
...  

AbstractDisorders of autophagy, a key regulator of cellular homeostasis, cause a number of human diseases. Due to the role of autophagy in metabolic dysregulation, there is a need to identify autophagy regulators as therapeutic targets. To address this need, we conducted an autophagy phenotype-based screen and identified the natural compound kaempferide (Kaem) as an autophagy enhancer. Kaem promoted autophagy through translocation of transcription factor EB (TFEB) without MTOR perturbation, suggesting it is safe for administration. Moreover, Kaem accelerated lipid droplet degradation in a lysosomal activity-dependent manner in vitro and ameliorated metabolic dysregulation in a diet-induced obesity mouse model. To elucidate the mechanism underlying Kaem’s biological activity, the target protein was identified via combined drug affinity responsive target stability and LC–MS/MS analyses. Kaem directly interacted with the mitochondrial elongation factor TUFM, and TUFM absence reversed Kaem-induced autophagy and lipid degradation. Kaem also induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) to sequentially promote lysosomal Ca2+ efflux, TFEB translocation and autophagy induction, suggesting a role of TUFM in mtROS regulation. Collectively, these results demonstrate that Kaem is a potential therapeutic candidate/chemical tool for treating metabolic dysregulation and reveal a role for TUFM in autophagy for metabolic regulation with lipid overload.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1732
Author(s):  
Sandra Patricia Palma Albornoz ◽  
Thais Fernanda de Campos Fraga-Silva ◽  
Ana Flávia Gembre ◽  
Rômulo Silva de Oliveira ◽  
Fernanda Mesquita de Souza ◽  
...  

The microbiota of the gut–lung axis affects local and far-reaching immune responses and might also trigger chronic and inflammatory diseases. We hypothesized that gut dysbiosis induced by obesity, which coexists in countries with a high tuberculosis burden, aggravates the host susceptibility and the pulmonary damage tolerance. To assess our hypothesis, we used a model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, followed by infection of C57BL/6 mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We showed that obesity increased the susceptibility, the pulmonary inflammation and IFN-γ levels in M. tuberculosis-infected mice. During the comorbidity obesity and tuberculosis, there is an increase of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in the lungs, and an increase of Firmicutes and butyrate in the feces. Depletion of gut microbiota by antibiotic treatment in the obese infected mice reduced the frequencies of CD4+IFN-γ+IL-17− cells and IFN-γ levels in the lungs, associated with an increase of Lactobacillus. Our findings reinforce the role of the gut–lung axis in chronic infections and suggest that the gut microbiota modulation may be a potential host-directed therapy as an adjuvant to treat TB in the context of IFN-γ-mediated immunopathology.


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