Longer and Shorter Forms of Sendai Virus C Proteins Play Different Roles in Modulating the Cellular Antiviral Response

The Sendai virus (SeV) C gene codes for a nested set of four C proteins that carry out several functions, including the modulation of viral RNA synthesis and countering of the cellular antiviral response. Using mutant C genes (and in particular a C gene with a deletion of six amino acids present only in the larger pair of C proteins) and recombinant SeV carrying these mutant C genes, we find that the nested set of C proteins carry out a nested set of functions. All of the C proteins interdict interferon (IFN) signaling to IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) and prevent pY701-Stat1 formation. However, only the larger C proteins can induce STAT1 instability, prevent IFN from inducing an antiviral state, or prevent programmed cell death. Remarkably, interdiction of IFN signaling to ISGs and the absence of pY701-Stat1 formation did not prevent IFN-alpha from inducing an anti-Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) state. It is possible that IFN-alpha signaling to induce an anti-VSV state can occur independently of the well-established Jak/Stat/ISGF3 pathway and that it is this parallel pathway that is targeted by the longer C proteins.     

Sendai Virus C Proteins Counteract the Interferon-Mediated Induction of an Antiviral State

We have studied the relationship between the Sendai virus (SeV) C proteins (a nested set of four proteins initiated at different start codons) and the interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral response in IFN-competent cells in culture. SeV strains containing wild-type or various mutant C proteins were examined for their ability (i) to induce an antiviral state (i.e., to prevent the growth of vesicular stomatitis virus [VSV] following a period of SeV infection), (ii) to induce the elevation of Stat1 protein levels, and (iii) to prevent IFN added concomitant with the SeV infection from inducing an antiviral state. We find that expression of the wild-type C gene and, specifically, the AUG114-initiated C protein prevents the establishment of an antiviral state: i.e., cells infected with wild-type SeV exhibited little or no increase in Stat1 levels and were permissive for VSV replication, even in the presence of exogenous IFN. In contrast, in cells infected with SeV lacking the AUG114-initiated C protein or containing a single amino acid substitution in the C protein, the level of Stat1 increased and VSV replication was inhibited. The prevention of the cellular IFN-mediated antiviral response appears to be a key determinant of SeV pathogenicity.     

Sendai virus C proteins must interact directly with cellular components to interfere with interferon action

Sendai virus (SeV) infection of interferon (IFN)-competent cells is one of the most efficient ways of inducing IFN production. Virus replication is nevertheless largely unaffected, since SeV infection also interfers with IFN action, a prerequisite for the establishment of an antiviral state. This property has been mapped by reverse genetics to the viral C gene, which is also known to act as a promoter-specific inhibitor of viral RNA synthesis. Using luciferase reporter plasmids containing IFN-responsive promoters, we have found that all four C proteins effectively interdict IFN signaling when expressed independently of SeV infection. The C proteins must therefore interact directly with cellular components to carry this out. The C gene in the context of an SeV infection was also found to induce STAT1 instability in some cells, whereas in other cells it apparently acts to prevent the synthesis of STAT1 in response to the virus infection or IFN treatment. The SeV C proteins appear to act in at least two ways to counteract the IFN induced by SeV infection.     

Respiratory syncytial virus nonstructural proteins NS1 and NS2 mediate inhibition of Stat2 expression and alpha/beta interferon responsiveness

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) subverts the antiviral interferon (IFN) response, but the mechanism for this evasion was unclear. Here we show that RSV preferentially inhibits IFN-alpha/beta signaling by expression of viral NS1 and NS2. Thus, RSV infection or expression of recombinant NS1 and NS2 in epithelial host cells causes a marked decrease in Stat2 levels and the consequent downstream IFN-alpha/beta response. Similarly, NS1/NS2-deficient RSV no longer decreases Stat2 levels or IFN responsiveness. RSV infection decreased human but not mouse Stat2 levels, so this mechanism of IFN antagonism may contribute to viral host range, as well as immune subversion.     

The C proteins of human parainfluenza virus type 1 block IFN signaling by binding and retaining Stat1 in perinuclear aggregates at the late endosome

Interferons (IFNs) play a crucial role in the antiviral immune response. Whereas the C proteins of wild-type human parainfluenza virus type 1 (WT HPIV1) inhibit both IFN-β induction and signaling, a HPIV1 mutant encoding a single amino acid substitution (F170S) in the C proteins is unable to block either host response. Here, signaling downstream of the type 1 IFN receptor was examined in Vero cells to define at what stage WT HPIV1 can block, and F170S HPIV1 fails to block, IFN signaling. WT HPIV1 inhibited phosphorylation of both Stat1 and Stat2, and this inhibition was only slightly reduced for F170S HPIV1. Degradation of Stat1 or Stat2 was not observed. The HPIV1 C proteins were found to accumulate in the perinuclear space, often forming large granules, and co-localized with Stat1 and the cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor (M6PR) that is a marker for late endosomes. Upon stimulation with IFN-β, both the WT and F170S C proteins remained in the perinuclear space, but only the WT C proteins prevented Stat1 translocation to the nucleus. In addition, WT HPIV1 C proteins, but not F170S C proteins, co-immunoprecipitated both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated Stat1. Our findings suggest that the WT HPIV1 C proteins form a stable complex with Stat1 in perinuclear granules that co-localize with M6PR, and that this direct interaction between the WT HPIV1 C proteins and Stat1 is the basis for the ability of HPIV1 to inhibit IFN signaling. The F170S mutation in HPIV1 C did not prevent perinuclear co-localization with Stat1, but apparently weakened this interaction such that, upon IFN stimulation, Stat1 was translocated to the nucleus to induce an antiviral response.     

Stat1 is a suppressor of ErbB2/Neu-mediated cellular transformation and mouse mammary gland tumor formation

The anti-tumor function of Stat1 as a regulator of innate immunity and tumor immune surveillance has been long studied and is well understood; however, less clear is its tumor-site specific role. Although Stat1 phosphorylated at tyrosine (Y) 701 and serine (S) 727 is essential for interferon (IFN) signalling, its function in signalling induced in breast cancer cells is not understood. Herein, we show that Stat1 Y701 phosphorylation is increased in human breast tumor cells with elevated levels of ErbB2/HER-2 and in cells transfected with ErbB2/Neu. However, pharmacological inhibition of ErbB2/HER-2 results in the inhibition of Stat1 Y701 phosphorylation indicating an atypical role of phosphorylated Stat1 in the inhibition of ErbB2/HER-2 signalling. Consistent with this notion, we found that Stat1 suppresses tumor development by an activated form of ErbB2/Neu in mouse embryonic fibroblasts in xenograft tumor assays; however, this anti-tumor function of Stat1 does not rely on Y701 and S727 phosphorylation. Experiments with transgenic mice demonstrated that Stat1 acts to suppress Neu-mediated breast tumorigenesis through immune regulatory and tumor-site specific mechanisms. Our data reveal a previous uncharacterized anti-tumor activity of Stat1 in ErbB2/Neu-mediated cell transformation and breast oncogenesis with possible implications in the diagnosis and treatment of ErbB2-positive breast cancers.     

Global quantitative proteomic analysis profiles host protein expression in response to Sendai virus infection

Sendai virus (SeV) is an enveloped nonsegmented negative‐strand RNA virus that belongs to the genus Respirovirus of the Paramyxoviridae family. As a model pathogen, SeV has been extensively studied to define the basic biochemical and molecular biologic properties of the paramyxoviruses. In addition, SeV‐infected host cells were widely employed to uncover the mechanism of innate immune response. To identify proteins involved in the SeV infection process or the SeV‐induced innate immune response process, system‐wide evaluations of SeV–host interactions have been performed. cDNA microarray, siRNA screening and phosphoproteomic analysis suggested that multiple signaling pathways are involved in SeV infection process. Here, to study SeV–host interaction, a global quantitative proteomic analysis was performed on SeV‐infected HEK 293T cells. A total of 4699 host proteins were quantified, with 742 proteins being differentially regulated. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that regulated proteins were mainly involved in “interferon type I (IFN‐I) signaling pathway” and “defense response to virus,” suggesting that these processes play roles in SeV infection. Further RNAi‐based functional studies indicated that the regulated proteins, tripartite motif (TRIM24) and TRIM27, affect SeV‐induced IFN‐I production. Our data provided a comprehensive view of host cell response to SeV and identified host proteins involved in the SeV infection process or the SeV‐induced innate immune response process.     

DNA binding of in vitro activated Stat1 alpha, Stat1 beta and truncated Stat1: interaction between NH2-terminal domains stabilizes binding of two dimers to tandem DNA sites.

Stat1 alpha, Stat1 beta and a proteolytically defined truncated Stat1 (132-713, Stat1tc) have been prepared from recombinant sources. All three proteins were specifically phosphorylated on Tyr701 in vitro and the phosphoprotein purified to homogeneity. This was achieved by employing a new isolation scheme that does not include DNA affinity steps and readily allows for the isolation of tens of milligrams of activated Stat protein. The purified phosphoprotein was free of traces of unphosphorylated polypeptide as detected by mass spectrometry. The phosphorylated Stat1 preparations bound to various DNA recognition sites with the same Keq of approximately 1 x 10(-9) M; distinction between 'weak' and 'strong' binding sites is determined by the very rapid dissociation (< 30 s, t1/2) from 'weak' sites compared with 'strong' sites (approximately 3 min, t1/2). Reports of 'weak' tandem binding sites in a natural gene caused us to examine binding to tandem sites leading to the finding that the Stat1 alpha or beta (38 amino acids shorter on the C terminus) bound to two tandem sites (but not two head-to-head sites) with a higher stability than to a single recognition site. The N-terminally truncated protein Stat1tc did not show this cooperative binding, thus implicating the N-terminal domain in promoting Stat1-Stat1 dimer interaction.     

Importance of the anti-interferon capacity of Sendai virus C protein for pathogenicity in mice

The Sendai virus (SeV) C protein blocks signal transduction of interferon (IFN), thereby counteracting the antiviral actions of IFN. Using HeLa cell lines expressing truncated or mutated SeV C proteins, we found that the C-terminal half has anti-IFN capacity, and that K(151)A, E(153)A, and R(154)A substitutions in the C protein eliminated this capacity. Here, we further created the mutant virus SeV Cm*, in which K(151)A, E(153)K, and R(157)L substitutions in the C protein were introduced without changing the amino acid sequence of overlapped P, V, and W proteins. SeV Cm* was found to lack anti-IFN capacity, as expected. While the growth rate and final yield of SeV Cm* were inferior to those of the wild-type SeV in IFN-responsive, STAT1-positive 2fTGH cells, SeV Cm* grew equivalently to the wild-type SeV in IFN-nonresponsive, STAT1-deficient U3A cells. SeV Cm* was thus shown to maintain multiplication capacity, except that it lacked anti-IFN capacity. Intranasally inoculated SeV Cm* could propagate in the lungs of STAT1(-/-) mice but was cleared from those of STAT1(+/+) mice without propagation. It was found that the anti-IFN capacity of the SeV C protein was indispensable for pathogenicity in mice. Conversely, the results show that the innate immunity contributed to elimination of SeV in early stages of infection in the absence of anti-IFN capacity.     

Rotavirus NSP1 Protein Inhibits Interferon-Mediated STAT1 Activation

Rotavirus (RV) replicates efficiently in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in vivo despite the activation of a local host interferon (IFN) response. Previously, we demonstrated that homologous RV efficiently inhibits IFN induction in single infected and bystander villous IECs in vivo. Paradoxically, RV also induces significant type I IFN expression in the intestinal hematopoietic cell compartment in a relatively replication-independent manner. This suggests that RV replication and spread in IECs must occur despite exogenous stimulation of the STAT1-mediated IFN signaling pathway. Here we report that RV inhibits IFN-mediated STAT1 tyrosine 701 phosphorylation in human IECs in vitro and identify RV NSP1 as a direct inhibitor of the pathway. Infection of human HT29 IECs with simian (RRV) or porcine (SB1A or OSU) RV strains, which inhibit IFN induction by targeting either IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) or NF-κB, respectively, resulted in similar regulation of IFN secretion. By flow cytometric analysis at early times during infection, neither RRV nor SB1A effectively inhibited the activation of Y701-STAT1 in response to exogenously added IFN. However, at later times during infection, both RV strains efficiently inhibited IFN-mediated STAT1 activation within virus-infected cells, indicating that RV encodes inhibitors of IFN signaling targeting STAT1 phosphorylation. Expression of RV NSP1 in the absence of other viral proteins resulted in blockage of exogenous IFN-mediated STAT1 phosphorylation, and this function was conserved in NSP1 from simian, bovine, and murine RV strains. Analysis of NSP1 determinants responsible for the inhibition of IFN induction and signaling pathways revealed that these determinants are encoded on discrete domains of NSP1. Finally, we observed that at later times during infection with SB1A, there was almost complete inhibition of IFN-mediated Y701-STAT1 in bystander cells staining negative for viral antigen. This property segregated with the NSP1 gene and was observed in a simian SA11 monoreassortant that encoded porcine OSU NSP1 but not in wild-type SA11 or a reassortant encoding simian RRV NSP1.