Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) comprise 10% of the genome, with many of these transcriptionally silenced post early embryogenesis. Several stimuli, including exogenous virus infection and cellular transformation can reactivate ERV expression via a poorly understood mechanism. We identified Interferon Regulatory Factor 1 (IRF-1), a tumor suppressor and an antiviral host factor, as a suppressor of ERV expression. IRF-1 decreased expression of a specific mouse ERV in vitro and in vivo. IRF-3, but not IRF-7, also decreased expression of distinct ERV families, suggesting that suppression of ERVs is a relevant biological function of the IRF family. Given the emerging appreciation of the physiological relevance of ERV expression in cancer, IRF-1-mediated suppression of specific ERVs may contribute to the overall tumor suppressor activity of this host factor.
Ataxia-Telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase participates in multiple networks, including DNA damage response, oxidative stress, and mitophagy. ATM also supports replication of diverse DNA and RNA viruses. Gammaherpesviruses are prevalent cancer-associated viruses that benefit from ATM expression during replication. This proviral role of ATM had been ascribed to its signaling within the DNA damage response network; other functions of ATM have not been considered. In this study increased type I interferon (IFN) responses were observed in ATM deficient gammaherpesvirus-infected macrophages. Using a mouse model that combines ATM and type I IFN receptor deficiencies we show that increased type I IFN response in the absence of ATM fully accounts for the proviral role of ATM during gammaherpesvirus replication. Further, increased type I IFN response rendered ATM deficient macrophages more susceptible to antiviral effects of type II IFN. This study identifies attenuation of type I IFN responses as the primary mechanism underlying proviral function of ATM during gammaherpesvirus infection.
Gammaherpesviruses establish life-long infections and are associated with B cell lymphomas. Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV68) infects epithelial and myeloid cells during acute infection, with subsequent passage of the virus to B cells, where physiological B cell differentiation is usurped to ensure the establishment of chronic latent reservoir. Interferons (IFNs) represent a major antiviral defense system that engages transcriptional factor STAT1 to attenuate diverse acute and chronic viral infections, including those of gammaherpesviruses. Correspondingly, global deficiency of type I or type II IFN signaling profoundly increases the pathogenesis of acute and chronic gammaherpesvirus infection, compromises host survival, and impedes mechanistic understanding of cell type-specific role of IFN signaling. Here we demonstrate that myeloid-specific STAT1 deficiency attenuates acute and persistent MHV68 replication in the lungs and suppresses viral reactivation from peritoneal cells, without any effect on the establishment of viral latent reservoir in splenic B cells. All gammaherpesviruses encode a conserved protein kinase that antagonizes type I IFN signaling in vitro. Here, we show that myeloid-specific STAT1 deficiency rescues the attenuated splenic latent reservoir of kinase null MHV68 mutant. However, despite having gained access to splenic B cells, protein kinase null MHV68 mutant fails to drive B cell differentiation. Thus, while myeloid-intrinsic STAT1 expression must be counteracted by the gammaherpesvirus protein kinase to facilitate viral passage to splenic B cells, expression of the viral protein kinase continues to be required to promote optimal B cell differentiation and viral reactivation, highlighting the multifunctional nature of this conserved viral protein during chronic infection. Importance. IFN signaling is a major antiviral system of the host that suppresses replication of diverse viruses, including acute and chronic gammaherpesvirus infection. STAT1 is a critical member and the primary antiviral effector of IFN signaling pathways. Given the significantly compromised antiviral status of global type I or type II IFN deficiency, unabated gammaherpesvirus replication and pathogenesis hinders understanding of cell type-specific antiviral effects. In this study, a mouse model of myeloid-specific STAT1 deficiency unveiled site-specific antiviral effects of STAT1 in the lungs and peritoneal cavity, but not spleen of chronically infected hosts. Interestingly, expression of a conserved gammaherpesvirus protein kinase was required to counteract the antiviral effects of myeloid-specific STAT1 expression to facilitate latent infection of splenic B cells, revealing a cell-type specific virus-host antagonism during the establishment of chronic gammaherpesvirus infection.
Gammaherpesviruses, such as Epstein Barr virus, infect 95% of adults and form lifelong infection primarily through manipulation of B cells. During primary infection, gammaherpesviruses establish latent infections within B cells and drive robust, polyclonal germinal center (GC) responses, which atypically include B cells specific to both viral and self antigens. Consequently, this humoral response results in production of both autoantibodies, and interestingly, antibodies reactive to antigens of non-human species. While this non-physiological production of antibodies suggests viral manipulation of immune tolerance, the underlying mechanisms driving these phenomena are poorly understood. Utilizing murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68), a rodent pathogen highly similar to EBV which serves as an animal model of EBV infection, we have discovered that the host factor H2-O (HLA-DO in humans) attenuates MHV68 latency establishment and the MHV68 driven GC response. H2-O acts as an inhibitor of H2-M (HLA-DM), the protein which regulates peptide exchange and thus the repertoire of peptides associated with the MHC-II peptide binding groove. We found that mice deficient in H2-O displayed increased MHV68 latent reservoirs, increased GC response, and a selective increase in dsDNA specific IgG, with no change in virus specific IgG at the peak of latent viral infection. These results show a novel role of H2-O in attenuating the non-physiological, self-directed B cell response driven by MHV68. Furthermore, these studies are the first to demonstrate that fine tuning of MHC-II antigen presentation is sufficient to alter the self-directed B cell differentiation usurped by a ubiquitous viral pathogen during establishment of life-long infection.
MHV68 latency modulates host immune responses to H1N1 in uenza virus (49.9)
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