TMPRSS2 gene polymorphism common in East Asians confers decreased COVID-19 susceptibility.

COVID-19 has a wide range of clinical presentations, and the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the mortality rate also vary by region and ethnicity. Here, we found that rs12329760 in the TMPRSS2 gene, a missense variant common in East Asian populations, contributes to protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. TMPRSS2 is a protease responsible for SARS-CoV-2 entry and syncytium formation. rs12329760 (c.478G>A, p. V160M) was associated with a reduced risk of moderate symptoms. The enzymatic activity of Met160-TMPRSS2 was lower than that of Val160-TMPRSS2, and thus the viral entry and the syncytium formation of SARS-CoV-2 were impaired. Collectively, these results indicate that the genetic variation in TMPRSS2, which is common in East Asians, is one of the molecular determinants of COVID-19 susceptibility.

Potent mouse monoclonal antibodies that block SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has developed into a global pandemic since its first outbreak in the winter of 2019. An extensive investigation of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for disease control. Various recombinant monoclonal antibodies of human origin that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 infection have been isolated from convalescent patients and will be applied as therapies and prophylaxis. However, the need for dedicated monoclonal antibodies suitable for molecular pathology research is not fully addressed. Here, we produced six mouse anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike monoclonal antibodies that not only exhibit robust performance in immunoassays including western blotting, ELISA, immunofluorescence, and immunoprecipitation, but also demonstrate neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection to VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells. Due to their mouse origin, our monoclonal antibodies are compatible with the experimental immunoassay setups commonly used in basic molecular biology research laboratories, providing a useful tool for future research. Furthermore, in the hope of applying the antibodies of clinical setting, we determined the variable regions of the antibodies and used them to produce recombinant human/mouse chimeric antibodies.

RNA-recognition motifs and glycine and arginine-rich region cooperatively regulate the nucleolar localization of nucleolin.

Nucleolin (NCL) is a nucleolar protein i.e. involved in the regulation of the nucleolar structure and functions, and consists of three distinct regions: the N-terminal region; the middle region, which contains four RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs); and the C-terminal glycine- and arginine-rich (GAR) region. The primary function of the RRMs and GAR is thought to be specific RNA binding. However, it is not well understood how these RNA-binding regions of NCL separately or cooperatively regulate its nucleolar localization and functions. To address this issue, we constructed mutant proteins carrying point mutations at the four RRMs individually or deletion of the C-terminal GAR region. We found that the GAR deletion and the mutations in the fourth RRM (RRM4) decreased the nucleolar localization of NCL. Biochemical analyses showed that NCL interacted directly with ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and G-rich oligonucleotides, and that this interaction was decreased by mutations at RRM1 and RRM4 and GAR deletion. Although GAR deletion decreased the rRNA-binding activity of NCL, the mutant was efficiently coprecipitated with rRNAs and nucleolar proteins from cell extracts. These contradictory results suggest that NCL stably localizes to the nucleoli via the interactions with rRNAs and nucleolar proteins via GAR, RRM1 and RRM4.

Involvement of CTCF in transcription regulation of EGR1 at early G1 phase as an architecture factor.

Early growth response 1 (EGR1) is a transcription factor and regulates cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The expression of EGR1 is rapidly induced in response to several stimuli, and it activates the expression of downstream target genes involved in signaling cascades. EGR1 gene is also known to be transcribed in early G1 phase. However, the regulation of EGR1 transcription in early G1 phase is not clarified well. Here we found that CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF), a chromatin binding protein, is required to transcribe EGR1 gene at the onset of early G1 phase. We found that CTCF mediated the formation of higher-order chromatin structures among CTCF binding sites located in the EGR1 locus. Disruption of the CTCF-dependent higher-order chromatin structure using nuclease-dead Cas9 (dCas9)-mediated interference reduced the EGR1 transcription in early G1 phase. Collectively, we propose that CTCF has functional roles for the temporal expression of EGR1 in early G1 phase through regulation of higher-order chromatin structure organization.

Assembly and remodeling of viral DNA and RNA replicons regulated by cellular molecular chaperones.

A variety of cellular reactions mediated by interactions among proteins and nucleic acids requires a series of proteins called molecular chaperones. The viral genome encodes relatively few kinds of viral proteins and, therefore, host-derived cellular factors are required for virus proliferation. Here we discuss those cellular proteins known as molecular chaperones, which are essential for the assembly of functional viral DNA/RNA replicons. The function of these molecular chaperones in the cellular context is also discussed.

Mitotic phosphorylation of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) reduces its DNA binding activity.

During mitosis, higher order chromatin structures are disrupted and chromosomes are condensed to achieve accurate chromosome segregation. CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a highly conserved and ubiquitously expressed C2H2-type zinc finger protein which is considered to be involved in epigenetic memory through regulation of higher order chromatin architecture. However, the regulatory mechanism of CTCF in mitosis is still unclear. Here we found that the DNA-binding activity of CTCF is regulated in a phosphorylation-dependent manner during mitosis. The linker domains of the CTCF zinc finger domain were found to be phosphorylated during mitosis. The phosphorylation of linker domains impaired the DNA-binding activity in vitro. Mutation analyses showed that amino acid residues (Thr289, Thr317, Thr346, Thr374, Ser402, Ser461, and Thr518) located in the linker domains were phosphorylated during mitosis. Based on these results, we propose that the mitotic phosphorylation of the linker domains of CTCF is important for the dissociation of CTCF from mitotic chromatin.

DNA replication-dependent binding of CTCF plays a critical role in adenovirus genome functions.

The expression of adenovirus late genes is shown to require viral DNA replication, but its mechanism remains elusive. Here we found that knockdown of CTCF suppresses viral DNA replication as well as late, but not early, gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays indicated that CTCF binds to viral chromatin depending on viral DNA replication. These findings depict CTCF as a critical regulator for adenovirus genome functions in late phases of infection.