[Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus nucleoprotein specifically binds to 60kD SSA/Ro protein in host cells].

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate whether the nucleoprotein (NP) of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) can impact the cellular immunity of host cells. Gene segments that encode the NP and non-structural protein (NSs) of SFTSV were inserted into eukaryotic expression vector VR1012. Host proteins that interact with NP and affect immunity were identified with co-immunoprecipitation (IP), SDS-PAGE, mass spectrometry (MS), and Western blot. Co-localization of NP and the identified host proteins was confirmed by confocal microscopy. A 60kD SSA/Ro, a protein related to immunity, interacted with NP, as found by IP and MS. Confocal microscopy showed that NP and SSA/Ro were co-localized in cytoplasm. These results indicated that SFTSV NP may specifically bind to 60kD SSA/Ro and cause a series of immune responses and clinical symptoms.