Recent studies suggest a possible takeover of host antimicrobial autophagy machinery by positive-stranded RNA viruses to facilitate their own replication. In the present study, we investigated the role of autophagy in coxsackievirus replication. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), a picornavirus associated with viral myocarditis, causes pronounced intracellular membrane reorganization after infection. We demonstrate that CVB3 infection induces an increased number of double-membrane vesicles, accompanied by an increase of the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio and an accumulation of punctate GFP-LC3-expressing cells, two hallmarks of cellular autophagosome formation. However, protein expression analysis of p62, a marker for autophagy-mediated protein degradation, showed no apparent changes after CVB3 infection. These results suggest that CVB3 infection triggers autophagosome formation without promoting protein degradation by the lysosome. We further examined the role of the autophagosome in CVB3 replication. We demonstrated that inhibition of autophagosome formation by 3-methyladenine or small interfering RNAs targeting the genes critical for autophagosome formation (ATG7, Beclin-1, and VPS34 genes) significantly reduced viral replication. Conversely, induction of autophagy by rapamycin or nutrient deprivation resulted in increased viral replication. Finally, we examined the role of autophagosome-lysosome fusion in viral replication. We showed that blockage of the fusion by gene silencing of the lysosomal protein LAMP2 significantly promoted viral replication. Taken together, our results suggest that the host's autophagy machinery is activated during CVB3 infection to enhance the efficiency of viral replication.

Rho guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs) activate Rho GTPases, and thereby regulate cytoskeletal structure, gene transcription, and cell migration. Leukemia-associated RhoGEF (LARG) belongs to a small subfamily of RhoGEFs that are RhoA-selective and directly activated by the G␣ 12/13 family of heterotrimeric G proteins. Herein we describe the atomic structures of the catalytic Dbl homology (DH) and pleckstrin homology (PH) domains of LARG alone and in complex with RhoA. These structures demonstrate that the DH/PH domains of LARG can undergo a dramatic conformational change upon binding RhoA, wherein both the DH and PH domains directly engage RhoA. Through mutational analysis we show that full nucleotide exchange activity requires a novel N-terminal extension on the DH domain that is predicted to exist in a broader family of RhoGEFs that includes p115-RhoGEF, Lbc, Lfc, Net1, and Xpln, and identify regions within the LARG PH domain that contribute to its ability to facilitate nucleotide exchange in vitro. In crystals of the DH/PH-RhoA complex, the active site of RhoA adopts two distinct GDP-excluding conformations among the four unique complexes in the asymmetric unit. Similar changes were previously observed in structures of nucleotide-free Ras and Ef-Tu. A potential protein-docking site on the LARG PH domain is also evident and appears to be conserved throughout the Lbc subfamily of RhoGEFs.Rho GTPases are molecular switches that cycle between an active GTP-bound and an inactive GDP-bound state. In their activated form, Rho GTPases bind to effector proteins that regulate the actin cytoskeleton, gene expression, and cell cycle progression (1). Members of the three principal Rho GTPase subfamilies (Rho, Cdc42, and Rac) exert distinct morphological effects on cells and promote transcriptional activation through unique pathways. All are thought to play important roles in cellular transformation and metastasis (2, 3).Rho GTPases are converted into their active, GTP-bound form by a large family of ϳ50 guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs) 1 that have a catalytic domain homologous to that of the Dbl oncoprotein (the DH domain) (4). In most Dbl family RhoGEFs, the DH domain is positioned immediately N-terminal to a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Structures of DH/PH tandem domains from several RhoGEFs have been determined, either alone (Sos, Trio-N, and Dbs) (5-7) or in complex with their substrate GTPases (Tiam1-Rac1, DbsCdc42, Dbs-RhoA, and intersectin-Cdc42) (8 -10). The DH domain is an oblong helical bundle that facilitates nucleotide exchange by forming a stable complex with a nucleotide-free conformation of the Rho GTPase. The bulk of the DH domainGTPase interface is formed between residues in the ␣1, ␣5, and ␣6 segments of the DH domain and the switch 1 and 2 elements of the GTPase. These contacts are highly conserved and define the basis for disruption of the nucleotide and magnesium binding sites of the GTPase. Based on the various DH/PH-GTPase crystal structures and biochemical studies (10), ...

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains a global public health crisis. Although widespread vaccination campaigns are underway, their efficacy is reduced owing to emerging variants of concern1,2. Development of host-directed therapeutics and prophylactics could limit such resistance and offer urgently needed protection against variants of concern3,4. Attractive pharmacological targets to impede viral entry include type-II transmembrane serine proteases (TTSPs) such as TMPRSS2; these proteases cleave the viral spike protein to expose the fusion peptide for cell entry, and thus have an essential role in the virus lifecycle5,6. Here we identify and characterize a small-molecule compound, N-0385, which exhibits low nanomolar potency and a selectivity index of higher than 106 in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection in human lung cells and in donor-derived colonoids7. In Calu-3 cells it inhibits the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma) and B.1.617.2 (Delta). Notably, in the K18-human ACE2 transgenic mouse model of severe COVID-19, we found that N-0385 affords a high level of prophylactic and therapeutic benefit after multiple administrations or even after a single administration. Together, our findings show that TTSP-mediated proteolytic maturation of the spike protein is critical for SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo, and suggest that N-0385 provides an effective early treatment option against COVID-19 and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a hypoxia inducible factor 1-induced, cell surface pH regulating enzyme with an established role in tumor progression and clinical outcome. However, the molecular basis of CAIX-mediated tumor progression remains unclear. Here, we have utilized proximity dependent biotinylation (BioID) to map the CAIX ‘interactome’ in breast cancer cells in order to identify physiologically relevant CAIX-associating proteins with potential roles in tumor progression. High confidence proteins identified include metabolic transporters, β1 integrins, integrin-associated protein CD98hc and matrix metalloprotease 14 (MMP14). Biochemical studies validate the association of CAIX with α2β1 integrin, CD98hc and MMP14, and immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrates colocalization of CAIX with α2β1 integrin and MMP14 in F-actin/cofilin-positive lamellipodia/pseudopodia, and with MMP14 to cortactin/Tks5-positive invadopodia. Modulation of CAIX expression and activity results in significant changes in cell migration, collagen degradation and invasion. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that CAIX associates with MMP14 through potential phosphorylation residues within its intracellular domain, and that CAIX enhances MMP14-mediated collagen degradation by directly contributing hydrogen ions required for MMP14 catalytic activity. These findings establish hypoxia-induced CAIX as a novel metabolic component of cellular migration and invasion structures, and provide new mechanistic insights into its role in tumor cell biology.