综述:天然免疫限制因子Tetherin的抗病毒机理研究进展

天然免疫限制因子Tetherin(骨髓基质细胞抗原2)是Ⅰ型干扰素诱导产生的Ⅱ型跨膜蛋白．Tetherin通过其特殊的拓扑结构,在病毒出芽过程中将病毒粒子连接在细胞膜表面,限制病毒的有效释放,从而发挥广谱性的抗病毒活性,而病毒也可以通过多种策略拮抗Tetherin的抗病毒活性．病毒与宿主长期抗争进化的结果表现为病毒特定拮抗蛋白对抗不同种属细胞Tetherin的限制存在种属特异性．本文通过对Tetherin的分子结构、抗病毒活性及其拮抗蛋白的对抗机制等最新进展进行综述,为研究病毒与宿主相互作用的分子机制以及新型抗病毒药物的筛选提供借鉴．     

ZAP融合蛋白抑制HIV病毒模型的构建及功能分析

ZAP是一种抗病毒因子,能够特异性结合病毒RNA并招募细胞中的RNA酶降解所结合的靶RNA,从而抑制某些病毒的复制,如鼠白血病病毒(MLV)、辛德比斯病毒(SIN).ZAP对HIV病毒抑制作用并不明显.Tat和Rev是HIV编码的两种可以特异性结合HIVRNA的蛋白质,将它们与ZAP构建成融合蛋白,使得融合蛋白通过Tat或Rev结合HIVRNA并通过ZAP降解HIVRNA,从而抑制HIV假病毒载体携带基因的表达.这一结果为抑制HIV病毒提供了一个新思路,也支持了ZAP招募mRNA降解机器降解靶RNA的模型.     

天然免疫限制因子Tetherin的抗病毒机理研究进展

天然免疫限制因子Tetherin(骨髓基质细胞抗原2)是Ⅰ型干扰素诱导产生的Ⅱ型跨膜蛋白.Tetherin通过其特殊的拓扑结构,在病毒出芽过程中将病毒粒子连接在细胞膜表面,限制病毒的有效释放,从而发挥广谱性的抗病毒活性,而病毒也可以通过多种策略拮抗Tetherin的抗病毒活性.病毒与宿主长期抗争进化的结果表现为病毒特定拮抗蛋白对抗不同种属细胞Tetherin的限制存在种属特异性.本文通过对Tetherin的分子结构、抗病毒活性及其拮抗蛋白的对抗机制等最新进展进行综述,为研究病毒与宿主相互作用的分子机制以及新型抗病毒药物的筛选提供借鉴.     

抗病毒免疫因子Viperin的研究进展

先天免疫因子Viperin是一种功能与内质网相关的抗病毒蛋白,可被干扰素、多种病毒、细菌脂多糖(Lipopolysaccharides,LPS)和poly(I:C)等诱导表达。Viperin通过与病毒蛋白和某些细胞内蛋白的相互作用抑制病毒增殖,具有广谱抗病毒活性。在与宿主相互作用的长期进化过程中,某些病毒能够抑制细胞内Viperin的表达,逃逸其抗病毒功能。除抗病毒作用外,Viperin还具有其他一些生物学功能。近年来有关Viperin的研究,特别是在其抗病毒机理方面,进展较快,本文结合自身研究体会,就其基本特性和研究状况做一介绍。     

TRIM25在抗病毒天然免疫及恶性肿瘤发生发展中作用的研究进展

三基序蛋白25 (tripartite motif 25, TRIM25)是一种E3泛素连接酶,其介导的维甲酸诱导基因Ⅰ(retinoic acid-inducible gene I, RIG-I)泛素化是启动细胞内抗病毒反应的重要步骤。近期研究发现,TRIM25还能通过其他途径调节宿主抗病毒能力,包括RIG-Ⅰ的负调节、黑色素瘤分化相关基因5 (melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5, MDA5)的激活、增强锌指抗病毒蛋白(zinc-finger antiviral protein, ZAP)活性、抑制病毒RNA合成。与此同时,病毒与宿主能通过多种机制调节TRIM25,包括泛素化降解、与细胞和病毒RNA结合、与RIG-Ⅰ的结合、竞争TRIM25作用底物。TRIM25在肺癌、前列腺癌、肝癌、乳腺癌、胃癌、结直肠癌等恶性肿瘤的发生发展中也发挥重要作用。为了更好地了解TRIM25在抗病毒天然免疫与肿瘤发生发展中的作用及其机制,现对近年TRIM25在这两方面的研究进展进行总结。     

蓝藻抗病毒蛋白 N

蓝藻抗病毒蛋白N(cyanovirin-N)是Boyd等1997年在蓝藻中发现的一种抗病毒蛋白,其抗病毒机制是与病毒表面衣壳蛋白上的甘露寡糖结合,阻止病毒与宿主细胞表面的受体结合。由于近年不断发现它对各种严重的RNA逆转录病毒的抗病毒活性而倍受关注。     

禽类几种先天抗病毒免疫因子的研究进展

先天抗病毒免疫因子作为一种直接抗病毒的效应蛋白,为病原或干扰素(IFN)诱导所产生,在细胞内发挥早期抗病毒感染的作用,决定了机体抗病毒免疫反应状态。脊椎动物重要的抗病毒蛋白包括Mx、PKR、OAS、IFITM、ZAP等,其中,先天免疫因子Mx和IFITM是宿主关键的抗流感病毒蛋白,而针对Viperin抗病毒蛋白的抗病毒机制研究较深入。由于禽类先天免疫系统基础研究仍处于起步阶段,研究信息与进展较零散,本文归纳了这三种关键抗病毒蛋白的基本特性及禽类有关蛋白的最新研究进展。     

《自然－结构与分子生物学》：研究揭示抗病毒蛋白活性区域晶体结构

3月11日,国际著名期刊Nature Structural ＆ Molecular Biology发表了中国科学院生物物理研究所刘迎芳研究组和高光侠研究组合作完成的研究成果-抗病毒蛋白ZAP活性区域的晶体结构与功能研究（ Structure of N-termlnal domain of ZAP indicates how a zinc-finger protein recognizes complex RNA）.     

2’-5’寡聚腺苷酸合成酶（OAS）及其临床意义的研究进展

干扰素作用于靶细胞膜表面的受体后,通过信号转导系统诱导一系列抗病毒蛋白产生,干扰病毒复制以达到抗病毒目的。2’-5’寡聚腺苷酸合成酶（2’．5’oligoadenylatesynthetase,OAS）是干扰素作用于细胞后产生的一种重要的抗病毒蛋白,几十年来,国内外学者对OAS家族及其抗病毒机制进行了大量研究并取得了一定的进展,OAS被dsRNA激活后,催化生成2-5A,2-5A激活核酸内切酶RNaseL,降解病毒RNA,阻断病毒蛋白合成,从而发挥抗病毒作用。体内外研究表明,OAS的表达量或活性的变化可用于评价机体对干扰素的反应,反映干扰素抗病毒效果,另外,它还可作为系统性红斑狼疮的病情活动度的一种检测指标。因此,OAS具有重要的临床应用价值。本文就OAS家族及其抗病毒机制,其测定方法与对于病毒性肝炎和系统性红斑狼疮疾病的临床意义展开综述,以期对OAS的研究和应用提供参考。OAS是典型的干扰素诱导产物,可反映机体内干扰素的抗病毒水平,具有广阔的应用前景。     

IFIT家族基因抑制A型流感病毒WSN毒株的复制和转录

IFIT(Interferon induced proteins with tetratricopeptide repeats)家族基因是一组较早发现的干扰素刺激基因,它在抗病毒和免疫调节中发挥了重要作用。为研究IFIT家族基因抑制A型流感病毒复制的机理,利用高通量RNA深度测序(RNA-Seq)技术发现A型流感病毒A/WSN/33(WSN)毒株感染293T细胞后,IFIT家族基因均出现明显上调。同时发现在IFIT2、IFIT3过表达后,流感病毒的复制和转录均有明显下调,并对v RNP聚合酶活性具有剂量依赖型的抑制作用。进一步研究证明在感染IFIT2、IFIT3编码蛋白与流感病毒非结构蛋白(NS1)存在细胞内共定位,证明二者存在相互作用的可能。综上所述,IFIT家族基因可以抑制A型流感病毒的复制和转录,有助于进一步阐明宿主因子对流感病毒感染的调节机制。     

Expression of the zinc-finger antiviral protein inhibits alphavirus replication

The rat zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) was recently identified as a host protein conferring resistance to retroviral infection. We analyzed ZAP's ability to inhibit viruses from other families and found that ZAP potently inhibits the replication of multiple members of the Alphavirus genus within the Togaviridae, including Sindbis virus, Semliki Forest virus, Ross River virus, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. However, expression of ZAP did not induce a broad-spectrum antiviral state as some viruses, including vesicular stomatitis virus, poliovirus, yellow fever virus, and herpes simplex virus type 1, replicated to normal levels in ZAP-expressing cells. We determined that ZAP expression inhibits Sindbis virus replication after virus penetration and entry, but before the amplification of newly synthesized plus strand genomic RNA. Using a temperature-sensitive Sindbis virus mutant expressing luciferase, we further showed that translation of incoming viral RNA is blocked by ZAP expression. Elucidation of the antiviral mechanism by which ZAP inhibits Sindbis virus translation may lead to the development of agents with broad activity against alphaviruses.     

ZAP Inhibits Murine Gammaherpesvirus 68 ORF64 Expression and Is Antagonized by RTA

Zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is an interferon-inducible host antiviral factor that specifically inhibits the replication of certain viruses, including HIV-1 and Ebola virus. ZAP functions as a dimer formed through intermolecular interactions of its N-terminal tails. ZAP binds directly to specific viral mRNAs and inhibits their expression by repressing translation and/or promoting degradation of the target mRNA. ZAP is not a universal antiviral factor, since some viruses grow normally in ZAP-expressing cells. It is not fully understood what determines whether a virus is susceptible to ZAP. We explored the interaction between ZAP and murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68), whose life cycle has latent and lytic phases. We previously reported that ZAP inhibits the expression of M2, which is expressed mainly in the latent phase, and regulates MHV-68 latency in cultured cells. Here, we report that ZAP inhibits the expression of ORF64, a tegument protein that is expressed in the lytic phase and is essential for lytic replication. MHV-68 infection induced ZAP expression. However, ZAP did not inhibit lytic replication of MHV-68. We provide evidence showing that the antiviral activity of ZAP is antagonized by MHV-68 RTA, a critical viral transactivator expressed in the lytic phase. We further show that RTA inhibits the antiviral activity of ZAP by disrupting the N-terminal intermolecular interaction of ZAP. Our results provide an example of how a virus can escape ZAP-mediated immunity.     

The zinc finger antiviral protein directly binds to specific viral mRNAs through the CCCH zinc finger motifs

The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a recently isolated host antiviral factor. It specifically inhibits the replication of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) and Sindbis virus (SIN) by preventing the accumulation of viral RNA in the cytoplasm. For this report, we mapped the viral sequences that are sensitive to ZAP inhibition. The viral sequences were cloned into a luciferase reporter and analyzed for the ability to mediate ZAP-dependent destabilization of the reporter. The sensitive sequence in MLV was mapped to the 3' long terminal repeat; the sensitive sequences in SIN were mapped to multiple fragments. The fragment of SIN that displayed the highest destabilizing activity was further analyzed by deletion mutagenesis for the minimal sequence that retained the activity. This led to the identification of a fragment of 653 nucleotides. Any further deletion of this fragment resulted in significantly lower activity. We provide evidence that ZAP directly binds to the active but not the inactive fragments. The CCCH zinc finger motifs of ZAP play important roles in RNA binding and antiviral activity. Disruption of the second and fourth zinc fingers abolished ZAP's activity, whereas disruption of the first and third fingers just slightly lowered its activity.     

Expression and RNA-binding of human zinc-finger antiviral protein

Zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a recently isolated host antiviral factor that inhibits the replication of many viruses such as Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) and Sindbis virus (SIN) by preventing the accumulation of viral mRNA in the cytoplasm. ZAP comprises four CCCH zinc-finger motifs, the second and fourth of which are responsible for protein activity based on their integrity. Thus far, there have been no reports on whether or not ZAP expressed in Escherichia coli is soluble. Therefore, we expressed N-terminal ZAP (NZAP, 254 amino acids) in E. coli as a fusion protein with several different cleavage sites and protein tags. Cleaved ZAP in soluble form strongly bound to RNA through its four CCCH zinc-finger motifs. Here, we provide evidence indicating that ZAP directly interacted with viral RNA. Each conserved zinc-finger motif of ZAP coordinates a zinc ion using three cysteines and one histidine. These findings suggest that ZAP recruits the cellular RNA degradation machinery for the degradation of viral RNA.     

Analyses of SELEX-derived ZAP-binding RNA aptamers suggest that the binding specificity is determined by both structure and sequence of the RNA

The zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host factor that specifically inhibits the replication of certain viruses, including murine leukemia virus, Sindbis virus and Ebola virus, by targeting the viral mRNAs for degradation. ZAP directly binds to the target viral mRNA and recruits the cellular RNA degradation machinery to degrade the RNA. No significant sequence similarity or obvious common motifs have been found in the so far identified target viral mRNAs. The minimum length of the target sequence is about 500nt long. Short workable ZAP-binding RNAs should facilitate further studies on the ZAP-RNA interaction and characterization of such RNAs may provide some insights into the underlying mechanism. In this study, we used the SELEX method to isolate ZAP-binding RNA aptamers. After 21 rounds of selection, ZAP-binding aptamers were isolated. Sequence analysis revealed that they are G-rich RNAs with predicted stem-loop structures containing conserved “GGGUGG” and “GAGGG” motifs in the loop region. Insertion of the aptamer sequence into a luciferase reporter failed to render the reporter sensitive to ZAP. However, overexpression of the aptamers modestly but significantly reduced ZAP’s antiviral activity. Substitution of the conserved motifs of the aptamers significantly impaired their ZAP-binding ability and ZAP-antagonizing activity, suggesting that the RNA sequence is important for specific interaction between ZAP and the target RNA. The aptamers identified in this report should provide useful tools to further investigate the details of the interaction between ZAP and the target RNAs.     

DEXH-Box protein DHX30 is required for optimal function of the zinc-finger antiviral protein

The zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host factor that specifically inhibits the replication of certain viruses by eliminating viral mRNAs in the cytoplasm. In previous studies, we demonstrated that ZAP directly binds to the viral mRNAs and recruits the RNA exosome to degrade the target RNA. In this article, we provide evidence that a DEXH box RNA helicase, DHX30, is required for optimal antiviral activity of ZAP. Pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that DHX30 and ZAP interacted with each other via their N terminal domains. Downregulation of DHX30 with shRNAs reduced ZAP’s antiviral activity. These data implicate that DHX30 is a cellular factor involved in the antiviral function of ZAP.     

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) modulates antiviral activity of zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP)

Zinc-finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host factor that specifically inhibits the replication of certain viruses, including HIV-1, Ebola virus, and Sindbis virus. ZAP binds directly to specific viral mRNAs and recruits cellular mRNA degradation machinery to degrade the target RNA. ZAP has also been suggested to repress translation of the target mRNA. In this study, we report that ZAP is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β). GSK3β sequentially phosphorylated Ser-270, Ser-266, Ser-262, and Ser-257 of rat ZAP. Inhibition of GSK3β by inhibitor SB216763 or down-regulation of GSK3β by RNAi reduced the antiviral activity of ZAP. These results indicate that phosphorylation of ZAP by GSK3β modulates ZAP activity.     

ZAP is a CRM1-dependent nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein

The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a recently isolated host antiviral factor. It specifically inhibits the replication of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) and Sindbis virus (SIN) by preventing the accumulation of viral RNA in the cytoplasm. In this report, we demonstrate that ZAP is predominantly localized in the cytoplasm at steady state but shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in a CRM1-dependent manner. Two nuclear localization sequences (NLS) and one nuclear export sequence (NES) were identified. One NLS was mapped to amino acids 68-RARVCRRK-75 and the other mapped to a region including amino acids K405 and K406. The NES was mapped to amino acids 284-LEDVSVDV-291. These findings help to understand why ZAP specifically prevents the accumulation of viral RNA in the cytoplasm. These findings also suggest possible functions of ZAP in the nucleus.