RESUMO
Interferon restricts SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture, but only a handful of Interferon Stimulated Genes with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 have been identified. Here, we describe a functional CRISPR/Cas9 screen aiming at identifying SARS-CoV-2 restriction factors. We identify DAXX, a scaffold protein residing in PML nuclear bodies known to limit the replication of DNA viruses and retroviruses, as a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV replication in human cells. Basal expression of DAXX is sufficient to limit the replication of SARS-CoV-2, and DAXX over-expression further restricts infection. DAXX restricts an early, post-entry step of the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle. DAXX-mediated restriction of SARS-CoV-2 is independent of the SUMOylation pathway but dependent on its D/E domain, also necessary for its protein-folding activity. SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers the re-localization of DAXX to cytoplasmic sites and promotes its degradation. Mechanistically, this process is mediated by the viral papain-like protease (PLpro) and the proteasome. Together, these results demonstrate that DAXX restricts SARS-CoV-2, which in turn has evolved a mechanism to counteract its action.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Proteínas Correpressoras/genética , Proteínas Correpressoras/metabolismo , Humanos , Interferons/metabolismo , Chaperonas Moleculares/genética , Chaperonas Moleculares/metabolismo , Complexo de Endopeptidases do Proteassoma/metabolismoRESUMO
SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells is initiated by the binding of the viral Spike protein to its cell-surface receptor ACE2. We conducted a targeted CRISPRi screen to uncover druggable pathways controlling Spike protein binding to human cells. Here we show that the protein BRD2 is required for ACE2 transcription in human lung epithelial cells and cardiomyocytes, and BRD2 inhibitors currently evaluated in clinical trials potently block endogenous ACE2 expression and SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells, including those of human nasal epithelia. Moreover, pharmacological BRD2 inhibition with the drug ABBV-744 inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in Syrian hamsters. We also found that BRD2 controls transcription of several other genes induced upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, including the interferon response, which in turn regulates the antiviral response. Together, our results pinpoint BRD2 as a potent and essential regulator of the host response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and highlight the potential of BRD2 as a therapeutic target for COVID-19.
Assuntos
Enzima de Conversão de Angiotensina 2/metabolismo , Antivirais/farmacologia , Células Epiteliais/virologia , SARS-CoV-2/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/efeitos dos fármacos , Enzima de Conversão de Angiotensina 2/efeitos dos fármacos , COVID-19/metabolismo , COVID-19/virologia , Linhagem Celular , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Humanos , Glicoproteínas de Membrana/metabolismo , SARS-CoV-2/efeitos dos fármacos , SARS-CoV-2/patogenicidade , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Tratamento Farmacológico da COVID-19RESUMO
Small linear motifs targeting protein interacting domains called PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ) have been identified at the C terminus of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins E, 3a, and N. Using a high-throughput approach of affinity-profiling against the full human PDZome, we identified sixteen human PDZ binders of SARS-CoV-2 proteins E, 3A, and N showing significant interactions with dissociation constants values ranging from 3 to 82 µm. Six of them (TJP1, PTPN13, HTRA1, PARD3, MLLT4, LNX2) are also recognized by SARS-CoV while three (NHERF1, MAST2, RADIL) are specific to SARS-CoV-2 E protein. Most of these SARS-CoV-2 protein partners are involved in cellular junctions/polarity and could be also linked to evasion mechanisms of the immune responses during viral infection. Among the binders of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins E, 3a, or N, seven significantly affect viral replication under knock down gene expression in infected cells. This PDZ profiling identifying human proteins potentially targeted by SARS-CoV-2 can help to understand the multifactorial severity of COVID19 and to conceive effective anti-coronaviral agents for therapeutic purposes.
Assuntos
COVID-19/genética , Interações Hospedeiro-Patógeno/genética , Domínios PDZ/genética , SARS-CoV-2/genética , COVID-19/virologia , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Proteínas do Nucleocapsídeo de Coronavírus/genética , Humanos , Cinesinas/genética , Miosinas/genética , Ligação Proteica/genética , Domínios e Motivos de Interação entre Proteínas/genética , Proteína Tirosina Fosfatase não Receptora Tipo 13/genética , SARS-CoV-2/patogenicidade , Proteínas do Envelope Viral/genética , Proteínas Viroporinas/genética , Internalização do Vírus , Replicação Viral/genética , Proteína da Zônula de Oclusão-1/genéticaRESUMO
Arthropod-borne viruses pose a major threat to global public health. Thus, innovative strategies for their control and prevention are urgently needed. Here, we exploit the natural capacity of viruses to generate defective viral genomes (DVGs) to their detriment. While DVGs have been described for most viruses, identifying which, if any, can be used as therapeutic agents remains a challenge. We present a combined experimental evolution and computational approach to triage DVG sequence space and pinpoint the fittest deletions, using Zika virus as an arbovirus model. This approach identifies fit DVGs that optimally interfere with wild-type virus infection. We show that the most fit DVGs conserve the open reading frame to maintain the translation of the remaining non-structural proteins, a characteristic that is fundamental across the flavivirus genus. Finally, we demonstrate that the high fitness DVG is antiviral in vivo both in the mammalian host and the mosquito vector, reducing transmission in the latter by up to 90%. Our approach establishes the method to interrogate the DVG fitness landscape, and enables the systematic identification of DVGs that show promise as human therapeutics and vector control strategies to mitigate arbovirus transmission and disease.
Assuntos
Antivirais/administração & dosagem , Vírus Defeituosos/genética , Mosquitos Vetores/efeitos dos fármacos , Infecção por Zika virus/tratamento farmacológico , Zika virus/genética , Aedes/efeitos dos fármacos , Aedes/virologia , Animais , Chlorocebus aethiops , Biologia Computacional , Evolução Molecular Direcionada , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Feminino , Aptidão Genética , Genoma Viral/genética , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Camundongos , Controle de Mosquitos/métodos , Mosquitos Vetores/virologia , Fases de Leitura Aberta/genética , RNA Viral/genética , Células Vero , Infecção por Zika virus/transmissão , Infecção por Zika virus/virologiaRESUMO
SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells is initiated by the binding of the viral Spike protein to its cell-surface receptor ACE2. We conducted a targeted CRISPRi screen to uncover druggable pathways controlling Spike protein binding to human cells. We found that the protein BRD2 is required for ACE2 transcription in human lung epithelial cells and cardiomyocytes, and BRD2 inhibitors currently evaluated in clinical trials potently block endogenous ACE2 expression and SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells, including those of human nasal epithelia. Moreover, pharmacological BRD2 inhibition with the drug ABBV-744 inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in Syrian hamsters. We also found that BRD2 controls transcription of several other genes induced upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, including the interferon response, which in turn regulates the antiviral response. Together, our results pinpoint BRD2 as a potent and essential regulator of the host response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and highlight the potential of BRD2 as a novel therapeutic target for COVID-19.
RESUMO
The causative agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, highlighting an urgent need to develop antiviral therapies. Here we present a quantitative mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomics survey of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero E6 cells, revealing dramatic rewiring of phosphorylation on host and viral proteins. SARS-CoV-2 infection promoted casein kinase II (CK2) and p38 MAPK activation, production of diverse cytokines, and shutdown of mitotic kinases, resulting in cell cycle arrest. Infection also stimulated a marked induction of CK2-containing filopodial protrusions possessing budding viral particles. Eighty-seven drugs and compounds were identified by mapping global phosphorylation profiles to dysregulated kinases and pathways. We found pharmacologic inhibition of the p38, CK2, CDK, AXL, and PIKFYVE kinases to possess antiviral efficacy, representing potential COVID-19 therapies.