Antibodies provide effective antiviral immunity despite the fact that viruses escape into cells when they infect. Here we show that antibodies remain attached to viruses after cell infection and mediate an intracellular immune response that disables virions in the cytosol. We have discovered that cells possess a cytosolic IgG receptor, tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21), which binds to antibodies with a higher affinity than any other IgG receptor in the human body. TRIM21 rapidly recruits to incoming antibodybound virus and targets it to the proteasome via its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Proteasomal targeting leads to rapid degradation of virions in the cytosol before translation of virally encoded genes. Infection experiments demonstrate that at physiological antibody concentrations TRIM21 neutralizes viral infection. These results reveal an intracellular arm of adaptive immunity in which the protection mediated by antibodies does not end at the cell membrane but continues inside the cell to provide a last line of defense against infection. V iruses and their hosts have been coevolving for millions of years, and this has given rise to a complex system of immunity traditionally divided into innate and adaptive responses. Innate immunity comprises germ-line encoded receptors and effector mechanisms that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) (1). The advantage of innate immunity is that it is fast and generic; however, viruses are adept at avoiding recognition by inhibiting innate immunity or by changing their molecular patterns. In contrast, adaptive immunity can clear a host of infection and provide protection against future infection. Unlike the PAMP receptors of innate immunity, adaptive immunity uses proteins such as antibodies to target pathogens. Antibodies are unique in the human body in that they evolve during the lifetime of an individual and can continue to target evolving pathogens (2). The weakness of adaptive immunity is that it can take 1 to 2 wk to reach full effectiveness. Moreover, the dogma of antibody immunity for the last 100 y has been that antibodies only provide extracellular protection (3). It is thought that once a virus has entered the cytosol of a cell, antibodies are helpless to prevent its infection.Recently we described an intracellular cytosolic protein called tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21) that is capable of binding to an invariant region of antibody molecules via its PRYSPRY domain (4). We found this activity to be structurally, thermodynamically, and kinetically conserved across mammals (5). However, antibodies are extracellular proteins, as are all known mammalian IgG receptors (with the exception of FcRn, which is intracellular but not cytosolic). It therefore seemed incongruous to us that TRIM21 should be a universally conserved intracellular protein and yet be a high-affinity, highly specific IgG receptor. We hypothesized that there might be an antibody effector mechanism inside cells, mediated by TRIM21. Here we demonstrate the existence of...

Antibodies can be carried into the cell during pathogen infection where they are detected by the ubiquitously expressed cytosolic antibody receptor TRIM21. Here we show that TRIM21 recognition of intracellular antibodies activates immune signaling. TRIM21 catalyses K63-ubiquitin chain formation, stimulating transcription factor pathways NF-κB, AP-1 and IRF3, IRF5, IRF7. Activation results in proinflammatory cytokine production, modulation of natural killer (NK) stress ligands and the induction of an antiviral state. Intracellular antibody signaling is abrogated by genetic deletion of TRIM21 and is recovered by ectopic TRIM21 expression. Antibody sensing by TRIM21 can be stimulated upon infection by DNA or RNA non-enveloped viruses or intracellular bacteria. The antibody-TRIM21 detection system provides potent, comprehensive innate immune activation, independent of known pattern recognition receptors.

Pathogens traverse multiple barriers during infection, including cell membranes. We found that during this transition, pathogens carried covalently attached complement C3 into the cell, triggering immediate signaling and effector responses. Sensing of C3 in the cytosol activated mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS)-dependent signaling cascades and induced proinflammatory cytokine secretion. C3 also flagged viruses for rapid proteasomal degradation, preventing their replication. This system could detect both viral and bacterial pathogens but was antagonized by enteroviruses, such as rhinovirus and poliovirus, which cleave C3 using their 3C protease. The antiviral rupintrivir inhibited 3C protease and prevented C3 cleavage, rendering enteroviruses susceptible to intracellular complement sensing. Thus, complement C3 allows cells to detect and disable pathogens that have invaded the cytosol.

bDespite a central role in immunity, antibody neutralization of virus infection is poorly understood. Here we show how the neutralization and persistence of adenovirus type 5, a prevalent nonenveloped human virus, are dependent upon the intracellular antibody receptor TRIM21. Cells with insufficient amounts of TRIM21 are readily infected, even at saturating concentrations of neutralizing antibody. Conversely, high TRIM21 expression levels decrease the persistent fraction of the infecting virus and allows neutralization by as few as 1.6 antibody molecules per virus. The direct interaction between TRIM21 and neutralizing antibody is essential, as single-point mutations within the TRIM21-binding site in the Fc region of a potently neutralizing antibody impair neutralization. However, infection at high multiplicity can saturate TRIM21 and overcome neutralization. These results provide insight into the mechanism and importance of a newly discovered, effector-driven process of antibody neutralization of nonenveloped viruses.A ntibody-mediated immunity forms a crucial part of the antiviral immune response, and its induction is a principal objective of vaccination. Reduced antibody (Ab) production, as occurs in X-linked agammaglobulinemia, hypogammaglobulinemia, and dysgammaglobulinemia, leads to persistent bacterial and viral infection (30,31). In vitro, the binding of Abs to virus causes a reduction in infectious titer, termed neutralization, which is independent of effector mechanisms such as complement fixation or Fc-mediated phagocytosis (5). Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are thought to play an important role in antiviral immunity, since the passive transfer of strongly neutralizing Abs is associated with both antiviral protection (10, 12) and the abrogation of disease (7, 34). However, modeling and prediction of neutralization are not straightforward (29). For instance, it is unclear how the binding of one or a few Ab molecules per virus is sufficient for neutralization (4). An average of 1.4 NAb molecules is capable of neutralizing human adenovirus (AdV) type 2 (39), an apparently paradoxical finding given that IgG molecules are considerably smaller than adenovirus particles and occupy only a fraction of the viral surface when bound. The binding of a single NAb was also reported to neutralize poliovirus (13,38). A second neutralization phenomenon that is poorly understood is the persistent fraction (PF), i.e., the level of infection that remains at high NAb concentrations. The cause of the PF was previously attributed to aggregated virus, low-affinity Abs, viral heterogeneity, and polyclonal interference (2,19).Recently, we showed that Abs can mediate neutralization intracellularly by recruiting the cytosolic Ig receptor TRIM21 (23). The engagement of NAb-virus complexes by TRIM21 promotes the degradation of both Ab and virus by the proteasome, a process termed antibody-dependent intracellular neutralization (ADIN) (25). In this study, we describe the mechanistic requirements for ADIN. We quantitatively examine ...

Tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21) is a cytosolic IgG receptor that mediates intracellular virus neutralization by antibody. TRIM21 targets virions for destruction in the proteasome, but it is unclear how a substrate as large as a viral capsid is degraded. Here, we identify the ATPase p97/valosin-containing protein (VCP), an enzyme with segregase and unfoldase activity, as a key player in this process. Depletion or catalytic inhibition of VCP prevents capsid degradation and reduces neutralization. VCP is required concurrently with the proteasome, as addition of inhibitor after proteasomal degradation has no effect. Moreover, our results suggest that it is the challenging nature of virus as a substrate that necessitates involvement of VCP, since intracellularly expressed IgG Fc is degraded in a VCP-independent manner. These results implicate VCP as an important host factor in antiviral immunity.A ntibody neutralization is a key component of the antiviral response and provides protective immunity. Our recent work has shown that neutralization can occur inside cells, in an effector-driven process mediated by tripartite motif-containing 21 (TRIM21). TRIM21, a cytosolic antibody receptor of ultrahigh affinity to IgG Fc (1, 2), is recruited to antibody-bound virus and targets the complex to the proteasome for degradation (3). This process potently neutralizes viral infection and has been termed antibody-dependent intracellular neutralization (ADIN) (4). ADIN is dependent upon the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of TRIM21 and can be abrogated by chemical inhibition of the proteasome.Although both proteasomal activity and ubiquitination are necessary for ADIN, the exact mechanism of virus degradation is poorly understood. Specifically, it is not clear how the proteasome can degrade a virion, a compact proteinaceous particle much larger than the proteasome itself. The 26S proteasome has a mass of ∼2.5 MDa (5), and the pore through which substrates must pass to access the proteolytic chamber is no greater than 2 nm in diameter (6, 7). In contrast, human adenovirus (AdV), a virus potently neutralized by TRIM21, has a diameter of ∼100 nm and a mass of 150 MDa (8).Although there are ATPases in the 19S regulatory subunit of the 26S proteasome that may unfold substrates and allow them to enter through the pore (5, 6), AdV virions are much larger than any of the proteasome's known cellular substrates. Because ADIN has been shown to be independent of autophagy but dependent on proteasomal degradation (3), we hypothesized that an additional energydependent step of AdV capsid disassembly and/or unfolding might precede proteasomal degradation of the virus.In recent studies, the ATPase p97/VCP of the AAA (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities) family has been implicated in the proteasomal degradation of certain cytosolic substrates (9-13). VCP is capable of dissociating proteins from large cellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum (14), the mitotic spindle (12), the nuclear envelope (15), and chromatin (1...

IgA is the most prevalent antibody type on mucosal surfaces and the second most prevalent antibody in circulation, yet its role in immune defense is not fully understood. Here we show that IgA is carried inside cells during virus infection, where it activates intracellular virus neutralization and innate immune signaling. Cytosolic IgA-virion complexes colocalize with the high-affinity antibody receptor tripartite motif-containing protein 21 (TRIM21) and are positive for lysine-48 ubiquitin chains. IgA neutralizes adenovirus infection in a TRIM21-and proteasome-dependent manner in both human and mouse cells. Translocated IgA also potently activates NF-κB signaling pathways in cells expressing TRIM21, whereas viral infection in the absence of antibody or TRIM21 is undetected. TRIM21 recognizes an epitope in IgG Fc that is not conserved in IgA; however, fluorescence anisotropy experiments demonstrate that direct binding to IgA is maintained. We use molecular modeling to show that TRIM21 forms a nonspecific hydrophobic seal around a β-loop structure that is present in IgG, IgM, and IgA, explaining how TRIM21 achieves such remarkable broad antibody specificity. The findings demonstrate that the antiviral protection afforded by IgA extends to the intracellular cytosolic environment.

As all viruses rely on cellular factors throughout their replication cycle, to be successful they must evolve strategies to evade and/or manipulate the defence mechanisms employed by the host cell. In addition to their expression of a wide array of host modulatory factors, several recent studies have suggested that poxviruses may have evolved unique mechanisms to shunt or evade host detection. These potential mechanisms include mimicry of apoptotic bodies by mature virions (MVs), the use of viral sub-structures termed lateral bodies for the packaging and delivery of host modulators, and the formation of a second, “cloaked” form of infectious extracellular virus (EVs). Here we discuss these various strategies and how they may facilitate poxvirus immune evasion. Finally we propose a model for the exploitation of the cellular exosome pathway for the formation of EVs.

Regioselektive Synthesestrategien eröffnen einen bequemen und flexiblen Zugang zu tetrasubstituierten Imidazolen (siehe Bild) in einer bislang unerreichten strukturellen Vielfalt. Diese Heterocyclen sind potente Cytokinhemmer und damit interessante Kandidaten für entzündungshemmende Arzneistoffe.