The AIM2 inflammasome is activated by DNA, leading to caspase-1 activation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, which are critical mediators in host innate immune responses against various pathogens. Some viruses employ strategies to counteract inflammasome-mediated induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, but their in vivo relevance is less well understood. Here we show that the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) tegument protein VP22 inhibits AIM2-dependent inflammasome activation. VP22 interacts with AIM2 and prevents its oligomerization, an initial step in AIM2 inflammasome activation. A mutant virus lacking VP22 (HSV-1ΔVP22) activates AIM2 and induces IL-1β and IL-18 secretion, but these responses are lost in the absence of AIM2. Additionally, HSV-1ΔVP22 infection results in diminished viral yields in vivo, but HSV-1ΔVP22 replication is largely restored in AIM2-deficient mice. Collectively, these findings reveal a mechanism of HSV-1 evasion of the host immune response that enables efficient viral replication in vivo.
cUs3 is a serine-threonine protein kinase encoded by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). In this study, a large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of titanium dioxide affinity chromatography-enriched phosphopeptides from HSV-1-infected cells using highaccuracy mass spectrometry (MS) and subsequent analyses showed that Us3 phosphorylated HSV-1-encoded dUTPase (
Bat coronavirus (BtCoV) is assumed to be a progenitor of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related coronaviruses. To explore the distribution of BtCoVs in the Philippines, we collected 179 bats and detected viral RNA from intestinal or fecal samples by RT-PCR. The overall prevalence of BtCoVs among bats was 29.6 %. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene suggested that one of the detected BtCoVs was a novel alphacoronavirus, while the others belonged to the genus Betacoronavirus. Western blotting revealed that 66.5 % of bat sera had antibodies to BtCoV. These surveys suggested the endemic presence of BtCoVs in the Philippines.
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