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Journal of Virology, February 2003, p. 2321-2329, Vol. 77, No. 4
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.77.4.2321-2329.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Genetics and Microbiology, University of Geneva School of Medicine, Centre Médicale Universitaire, CH1211 Geneva, Switzerland,1 Department of Biochemistry and Immunology, St. George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, London SW17 0RE, United Kingdom2
Received 5 September 2002/ Accepted 15 November 2002
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The antiviral state is composed of multiple components (e.g., a cap on the overall rate of protein synthesis), each of which is due to the action of multiple cellular genes. Moreover, this state for any particular virus is thought to be due to the accretion of multiple functions rather than the function of a single cellular gene (54). All viruses must deal with this antiviral response by first avoiding detection and then counteracting the cell's antiviral response when detection can no longer be avoided. In the face of the multifaceted cellular response, even simple viruses must counteract several aspects of this response as part of their own survival program. This paper details the different ways in which the Sendai virus (SeV) C proteins interact with Stat1 to counteract the cellular antiviral response.
The SeV C gene was an early example of an overlapping gene and has been an enigma since its discovery because of its unusual properties (22, 34). The C gene open reading frame is found overlapping the amino-terminal end of the open reading frame for the P, V, and W proteins (which are also expressed from the P gene mRNA due to mRNA editing) (Fig. 1A). A nested set of four C proteins are initiated from four ribosomal start codons, ACG87/C', AUG114/C, AUG183/Y1, and AUG201/Y2, due to a combination of leaky ribosomal scanning (C' and C) and a ribosomal shunt (Y1/Y2) (36). This gene has also been referred to as an "accessory" gene, like the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nef or influenza virus NS1 gene, as not all viruses of their respective families express these essentially nonstructural proteins (3). Moreover, they do not form part of their virus replication machines in a strict sense, as viruses in which these genes are deleted are viable (33).
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FIG. 1. (A) Open reading frame organization and expression of the SeV P gene. The four open reading frames (ORFs) expressed as proteins P, C, V, and W are shown as horizontal boxes, drawn roughly to scale. Several domains of the P protein, notably its tetramerization domain, including the L protein binding site and that which binds to the N: RNA nucleocapsid, are indicated. The double-headed arrow shows the site (codon 317) where G residues are added cotranscriptionally to access the V and W open reading frames. The crenellated beginning of the C open reading frame box indicates the four independently initiated C proteins, which all terminate at codon 205. aa, amino acid. (B) Sendai virus C proteins and their interactions with Stat1. The nested set of four C proteins (C', C, Y1, and Y2) that initiate from ACG87, AUG114, AUG183, and AUG201, respectively, are shown as a telescoping set of boxes. Their respective lengths in amino acids are indicated; AUG114/C is set at amino acid position 1. The critical Phe170 present in all four C proteins and the deletion of amino acids 10 to 15 (which are present only in C' and C) are indicated. The IFN-dependent interactions of C and Stat1 require F170 but not the N-terminal extensions found on C' and C, whereas the IFN-independent interactions of C and Stat1 require the N-terminal extensions found only on C' but not necessarily F170. These two different C/Stat1 interactions are shown schematically, along with the consequences of these interactions. The IFN-independent properties shared by the SeV C proteins and the rubulavirus V proteins are also indicated.
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Although C interacts with Stat1 and prevents IFN signaling in all cells examined, other consequences of this complex formation appear to be cell dependent. In HeLa cells, Stat1 levels remain unchanged by SeV infection, and the constitutive expression of any of the four C proteins prevents IFN from inducing an antiviral state (29). In other cells (mouse embryo fibroblasts [MEFs]), however, Stat1 levels are clearly reduced due to SeV infection, and only recombinant SeV that express the longer two of the four C proteins during infection are able to dismantle the IFN-induced antiviral state (15, 18). The possible significance of these different effects of the SeV C gene in different cells remains unclear.
Most recently, our understanding of how C counteracts the cellular antiviral response was further confounded by reports that pY701-Stat1 levels actually increase during SeV infections of HeLa cells, even though SeV prevents IFN-induced pY701-Stat1 formation and IFN signaling (32, 45). This paper reports that SeV infection increases pY701-Stat1 levels even in cells in which bulk Stat1 levels strongly decrease. Remarkably, both the decrease in bulk Stat1 levels and the increase in pY701-Stat1 levels were found to be independent of the IFN signaling system. Moreover, the C-induced decrease in Stat1 levels does not require Y701 of Stat1.
We present evidence that C interacts with Stat1 in two different ways, one that prevents IFN-induced pY701-Stat1 formation and IFN signaling that has already been documented, and another that induces pY701-Stat1 formation while decreasing bulk Stat1 levels in an IFN signaling-independent manner. These two types of Stat1 interaction are also distinguishable by C gene mutations, as the IFN signaling-independent increase in pY701-Stat1 and decrease in bulk Stat1 levels require a longer C protein but not Phe170, whereas the IFN-dependent C/Stat1 interaction requires Phe170 but not a longer C protein. The manner in which the C-induced increase in pY701-Stat1 levels and decrease in bulk Stat1 levels can counteract the cellular antiviral response is discussed.
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Virus infections. Cells were infected at a multiplicity of infection of 20 in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. After an absorption period of 1 to 2 h, the inoculum was removed and replaced with fresh medium. For proteasome inhibition experiments, the medium contained 0.2% dimethyl sulfoxide supplemented or not with 10 µM MG132 (Sigma). For kinase inhibition experiments, the medium contained 500 nM staurosporine (Sigma).
Coimmunoprecipitation. Cells were washed once with phosphate-buffered saline and scraped into phosphate-buffered saline, and whole-cell extracts were prepared with lysis buffer containing 0.5% NP-40, 50 mM Tris-Cl (pH 8), 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM EDTA, 1:200 protease inhibitor cocktail (Sigma P8340), and 1:200 phosphatase inhibitor cocktail (Sigma P2850). The mixture was sonicated for 5 s (Branson sonifier B12, position 3) and centrifuged at 13,000 x g for 2 min. The supernatant was used for immunoprecipitation with a mouse monoclonal antibody to ubiquitin (1:100 dilution) (P4D1; Santa Cruz). For the in vitro binding assay, two-thirds of total MEF extracts (corresponding to 4 x 106 cells) were mixed with two-thirds of infected BSR T7 cells (corresponding to 4 x 106 cells) at 20°C for 30 min before immunoprecipitation with a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to SeV C protein (1:300 dilution) (provided by Y. Nagai, Tokyo, Japan) or a mouse monoclonal antibody to Stat1 C terminus (1:300 dilution) (Transduction Laboratories; S21120).
Immunoblotting. Whole-cell extracts were prepared as described above. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to Immobilon-P membranes by semidry transfer. The primary antibodies used included a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to SeV P, C, V, and W proteins (to be described elsewhere), a mouse monoclonal antibody to the Stat1 C terminus (Transduction Laboratories; S21120), a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to phospho-Stat (Y701) (Upstate Biotechnology 06-657), a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to actin (provided by G. Gabbiani, Geneva, Switzerland), a mouse monoclonal antibody to ubiquitin (P4D1; Santa Cruz); and a rabbit polyclonal antibody to green fluorescent protein (GFP) (Clontech). The secondary antibodies used were alkaline phosphatase-conjugated goat antibodies specific for either rabbit or mouse immunoglobulin G (Bio-Rad). The immobilized proteins were detected by light-enhanced chemiluminescence (Pierce), and the results were quantified in a Bio-Rad light detector with Quantity One software (Bio-Rad).
Plasmids and transient transfections. Various SeV C and Stat1 genes were cloned into episomal Epstein-Barr virus-based expression plasmid EBS-PL (1). pEBS expressing simian virus 5 (SV5) protein V and GFP were the generous gift of Olivier Leupin and Michel Strubin (Geneva) (38; unpublished data).
The IFN-
/ß-responsive reporter plasmid p(9-27)4tk(239)lucter (30, 31), referred to here as pISRE(f)luc, contains four tandem repeats of the IFN-inducible gene 9-27 internally spaced repeat element (ISRE) fused to the firefly luciferase gene. pTK-r.luc, used as a transfection standard, contains the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK) promoter region upstream of the Renilla luciferase gene (Promega).
For transfections, 100,000 cells were plated in six-well plates 20 h before transfection with 1 µg of pEBS-C, 0.5 µg of pEBS-GFP, 1 µg of pEBS-Stat1, and 7.5 µl of Fugene (Roche) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
For luciferase assays, 2fTGH cells were transfected with 1 µg of pEBS-C, 1 µg of pISRE(f)luc, 0.3 µg of pTK-r.luc, and 7.5 µl of Fugene (Roche). At 24 posttransfection, the cells were treated or not with 1,000 IU of recombinant IFN-
2/
1 (51) per ml. At 14 h after IFN treatment, cells were harvested and assayed for firefly and Renilla luciferase activity (dual luciferase reporter assay system; Promega). Relative expression levels were calculated by dividing the firefly luciferase values by the Renilla luciferase values.
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signaling (i.e., that measured 45 min after the addition of 1,000 IU of IFN-
to the culture), in all cells examined (12, 15, 29). Nevertheless, pY701-Stat1 levels were paradoxically found to increase during SeV infection of HeLa cells (32, 45). As bulk Stat1 levels remained unchanged during HeLa infections and SeV prevented the normal loss of pY701-Stat1 when its de novo formation was blocked by treatment with staurosporine (a potent nonspecific kinase inhibitor), the increased pY701-Stat1 levels were attributed to SeV inhibition of the unknown phosphatase that dephosphorylates pY701-Stat1. We have recently described an MEF cell line that is restricted for the growth of highly IFN-sensitive viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus and SeV-CF170S (18). These cultures secrete high levels of IFN even in the absence of SeV infection, and they contain high constitutive levels of Stat1. These MEFs appear to have already established an IFN-induced antiviral (vesicular stomatitis virus) state or are primed to do so (see Discussion). In contrast to HeLa cells, SeV infection of these MEFs leads to a clear decrease in Stat1 levels; the MEFs become permissive for vesicular stomatitis virus at 18 h post-SeV infection, and this permissiveness increases with time. SeV can thus apparently dismantle this existing anti-vesicular stomatitis virus state, presumably in part by lowering Stat1 levels.
To determine whether SeV infection also increased pY701-Stat1 levels in cells in which bulk Stat1 levels decreased and whether this was due to its C protein, MEFs were infected or not with wild-type SeV (SeV-wt), SeV-C
10-15 (Fig. 1B), or SeV-[C'/C-minus] (whose C'/C initiation codons are inactive), and bulk Stat1 and pY701-Stat1 levels were followed (only a very small fraction of Stat1 is phosphorylated on Y701). Even though these three SeV replicate similarly in MEFs when the level of viral structural proteins is examined (e.g., P protein, Fig. 2A, lower panel), only SeV-wt infection concomitantly increased pY701-Stat1 levels while simultaneously decreasing bulk Stat1 levels (Fig. 2A, upper panel). Thus, only SeV that express wild-type C' and C proteins increase pY701-Stat1 levels.
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FIG. 2. Effect of SeV infection on bulk Stat1 and pY702-Stat1 levels of MEFs. (A) Parallel cultures of MEFs were infected or not with 20 PFU of SeV-wt, SeV-C 10-15, or SeV-[C'/C-minus] (or Y1/Y2) per cell. Total cell extracts were prepared at 24 h postinfection, and equal amounts were Western blotted with anti-Stat1 antibody (bulk), anti-pY701-Stat1 plus antiactin antibodies (middle panel), or a polyclonal antibody to the viral P, C, V, and W proteins. Each pair of lanes represent duplicate, independent infections. °, *, and #, C', C, and Y protein bands, respectively. (B) MEFs were infected or not with 20 PFU of SeV-wt per cell. After 24 h, some of the cultures were treated with 0.5 µM staurosporine for either 1 or 2 h. Total cell extracts were prepared, and equal amounts of extract were Western blotted with either anti-Stat1 (bulk) plus antiactin (the latter as a loading control) or anti-pY701-Stat1 antibodies in the ECL system. The results were quantitated in a Bio-Rad light detector and are presented below in graphic form and as their ratios. h., a host band.
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SeV-induced Stat1 instability and pY701-Stat1 formation are independent of IFN signaling in 2fTGH cells.
SeV lowers bulk Stat1 levels in several cell lines, including 2fTGH human fibrosarcoma cells, from which sublines defective in specific components of the IFN signaling system have been generated (43). U5A cells, for example, are defective in the IFN-
/ß receptor 2 chain, and these cells are restored to IFN sensitivity by complementation with the IFNAR2 gene (39). As shown in Fig. 3A, SeV-wt infection lowered Stat1 levels relative to the mock-infected control in both U5A and U5A+IFNAR2 cells. SeV C
10-15 and SeV-[C'/C-minus] infections, in contrast, slightly increased Stat1 levels, even though these infections accumulated more C proteins than SeV-wt infections (Fig. 3). Thus, similar to MEFs, in which C
10-15 was unable to decrease Stat1 levels, this decrease in fibrosarcoma cells also required the longer C proteins.
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FIG. 3. Effect of various SeV infections of U5A cells with and without IFNAR2 on bulk Stat1 levels. Parallel cultures of U5A or U5A+IFNAR2 cells were infected or not with 20 PFU of either SeV-wt, SeV-C 10-15, SeV-[C'/C-minus], or SeV-CF170S per cell. After 24 h, total cell extracts were prepared, and equal amounts of extract were Western blotted with anti-Stat1 (bulk) plus antiactin, or polyclonal antibodies that recognize the SeV C, P, V, and W proteins.
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FIG. 4. Effect of SeV infection of various cell lines defective in specific components of the IFN signaling system on bulk Stat1 and pY7021-Stat1 levels. Parallel cultures of U6A (Stat2-minus), U5A (IFNAR2-minus), U4A (JAK1-minus), or the parental (wild type) 2fTGH cells were infected or not with 20 PFU of SeV-wt per cell. Total cell extracts were prepared at 24 h postinfection, and equal amounts of extract were Western blotted with either anti-Stat1 (bulk) plus antiactin or anti-pY701-Stat1 antibodies (panel A). Panel B shows the effect of 45 min of IFN treatment on pY701-Stat1 levels of the various cell lines.
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694-750 (missing the entire activation domain). After 24 h, the transfected cells were infected or not with SeV for a further 24 h, and their bulk Stat1 levels were determined by immunoprecipitation (Fig. 5). In all cases, SeV infection clearly reduced the Stat1, Stat1-Y701F, and Stat1-
694-750 levels. Thus, SeV-induced Stat1 instability requires neither the critical Y701 of Stat1 nor the entire carboxyl activation domain. This is consistent with the finding that Stat1 instability is largely independent of IFN signaling.
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FIG. 5. Effect of SeV infection on transfected Stat1 levels in BSR T7 cells. Parallel cultures of BSR T7 cells were transfected with pEBS plasmids expressing either human wild-type Stat1 (1 to 750), Stat1-Y701F, Stat1- 694-750, or empty plasmid. After 24 h of transfection, the cultures were infected with 20 PFU of SeV-wt per cell for a further 24 h. Total cell extracts were prepared, equal amounts of extract were precipitated with anti-Stat1, and the precipitates were Western blotted with anti-Stat1.
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10-15, which all begin at AUG114/C and should not express C' or P (AUG104).
These plasmids should express essentially only C because the ribosomal shunt operates poorly here, but there was also a more slowly migrating shadow band of variable intensity and unknown origin (Fig. 6A and B). The C'/C-minus (or Y1/Y2) gene begins on AUG183/Y1, and all the C genes end at UAA728. Overexpressing Stat1 by cotransfection raises its intracellular level at least 10-fold and should provide an abundant target for C-induced phosphorylation. As shown in Fig. 6 (and data not shown), the expression of the C-wt and CF170S genes increased pY701-Stat1 levels in all the 2fTGH cell lines tested, whereas the C
10-15 and C'/C-minus genes were inactive in this respect. In particular, C-wt and CF170S were also active in Stat2-minus U6A cells (see Discussion).
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FIG. 6. Effect of various transfected C genes on cotransfected Stat1 in cell lines defective in known IFN-dependent signaling components. Parallel cultures of U1A and U1A+Tyk2 cells (A) and U4A and U4A+JAK2 cells (B) were cotransfected with pEBS plasmids expressing Stat1 and GFP along with one of the various C gene plasmids listed or an empty plasmid. Total cell extracts were prepared at 24 h posttransfection, and equal amounts of extract were Western blotted with either anti-Stat1 (bulk) plus anti-GFP (top panel) or anti-pY701-Stat1 plus antiactin (middle panel) or anti-C (bottom panel) antibodies. (C) 2fTGH cells were also transfected with the various C gene constructs (as well as the SV5 V gene) along with Stat1 and GFP for 72 h, and the steady-state level of Stat1 remaining was determined as in panels A and B.
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We were surprised to find that CF170S was (at least) as active as C-wt in increasing pY701-Stat1 levels, as this mutation has inactivated various functions of C examined so far. For example, CF170S is unable to form a complex with Stat1 in vitro under conditions in which C
10-15 and Y1/Y2 are active (18). Since pEBS plasmids are now being used to express the C genes (Fig. 6), we reexamined their ability to interdict IFN signaling to a cotransfected reporter construct in which luciferase is controlled by an IFN-stimulated response element (pISRE-luc). As expected, C-wt, C-
10-15, and Y1/Y2 expression all efficiently prevented IFN-induced luciferase activity, and only CF170S was inactive in this respect (Fig. 7A).
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FIG. 7. IFN-dependent C/Stat1 interaction requires F170 but not the longer C proteins, whereas IFN-independent C/pY701-Stat1 interaction requires the longer C proteins but not F170. (A) Parallel cultures of 2fTGH cells were cotransfected with pISRE-luc (firefly) and pTK-r.luc (Renilla) as well as one of the various C genes listed or an empty plasmid. Some of the cultures were treated with 1,000 IU of IFN- for 14 h at 24 h posttransfection. Cell extracts were then prepared, and the relative activities of both luciferases were determined. The bars show the results of duplicate determinations. (B) MEF cell extracts were mixed with those of BSR T7 cells that had been infected or not for 24 h with 20 PFU of either SeV-wt, SeV-CF170S, or SeV-C 10-15 per cell. The mixed extracts were then either precipitated with anti-C and Western blotted with anti-Stat1 or anti-pY701-Stat1 or precipitated with anti-Stat1 and Western blotted with anti-C.
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10-15 (Fig. 7B). The mixed extracts were then immunoprecipitated with anti-C and Western blotted with either anti-Stat1 or anti-pY701-Stat1. As found previously (18), Stat1 formed a complex with C-wt and C
10-15 but not with CF170S (Fig. 7B). C-wt/pY701-Stat1 complex formation also occurred in this mixed-extract assay, but this complex was just visible. Nevertheless, CF170S was as active as C-wt in forming a complex with pY701-Stat1 under these conditions, whereas C
10-15 was relatively inactive. Thus, C/pY701-Stat1 complex formation in vitro requires a longer C protein but does not require the critical Phe170, whereas C/Stat1 complex formation requires the critical Phe170 but not a longer C protein. C is apparently interacting with Stat1 and pY701-Stat1 in different ways. The different interactions of C and Stat1 are summarized in Fig. 1B. Respirovirus C proteins and rubulavirus V proteins. Most if not all paramyxoviruses induce Stat instability, at least in some cells. Rubulaviruses SV5, SV41, and mumps virus also induce Stat1 instability, whereas human parainfluenza virus type 2 induces Stat2 instability (reviewed in references 41 and 42). Rubulaviruses do not express C proteins as such, and this activity is due to its V protein, another P gene-derived product (13). As proteasome inhibitors such as MG132 and lactacystin prevent these paramyxovirus-induced decreases in Stat1 levels (13, 18), Stat1 instability is thought to be due to proteasomal degradation. It may be relevant in this respect that only the longer SeV C proteins induced what appears to be a ubiquitinated form of Stat1 (albeit with only a single ubiquitin adduct), a hallmark of protein degradation (18).
We therefore examined whether the rubulavirus SV5 V protein also induced this modified form of Stat1, as well as the (IFN signaling-independent) formation of pY701-Stat1. 2fTGH cells were transfected with Stat1 along with various C genes or the rubulavirus SV5 V gene. After 24 h, the transfected cultures were treated with MG132, and the levels of pY701-Stat1 were then determined by immunoblotting. The levels of ubiquitinated Stat1 were determined by first precipitating the extracts with antiubiquitin, followed by Western blotting with anti-Stat1. As shown in Fig. 8, the SV5 V protein was unable to induce pY701-Stat1 formation, in contrast to the SeV C protein. However, similar to the SeV C protein, the SV5 V protein did lead to elevated levels of (what appears to be) monoubiquitinated Stat1. Thus, this modified form of Stat1 is associated with both SeV C-induced and SV5 V-induced Stat1 instability.
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FIG. 8. Rubulavirus SV5 V gene induces Stat1 ubiquitination but not pY701-Stat1 formation. 2fTGH cells were cotransfected with plasmids expressing GFP and Stat1 along with the SeV C, SeV C 10-15, or SV5 V gene or an empty plasmid. Total cell extracts were prepared at 24 h posttransfection, and equal amounts of extract were Western blotted with either anti-Stat1 (bulk, top panel) or anti-pY701-Stat1 plus antiactin (middle panel). Equal amounts of extract were also precipitated with antiubiquitin (Ub) and then Western blotted with anti-Stat1 (bottom panel). The right-hand lane in the bottom panel has not been immunoprecipitated and shows the electrophoretic position of bulk Stat1. IgG-hc, IgG heavy chain.
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The dismantling of an existing antiviral state is presumably a more arduous task than preventing its establishment. That SeV can carry out the latter task in HeLa cells without lowering Stat1 levels may reflect this; it should not be construed as an indication that lowering Stat1 levels is irrelevant to the viral survival strategy (29). The SeV C proteins appear to act at two levels in counteracting the antiviral state. All four C proteins bind Stat1, preventing pY701-Stat1 formation and IFN signaling, and this requires F170. The two longer C proteins also induce Stat1 instability. Whether one or both of these mechanisms is sufficient to counteract the antiviral state presumably depends on the host cell.
Stat1 is a major transcription factor in the IFN signal transduction pathways that lead to cellular antiviral and immunomodulatory responses. IFNs stimulate gene expression by the phosphorylation of Y701-Stat1 by Janus kinases at the cell membrane (e.g., JAK1 and Tyk2). pY701-Stat1 then homo- or heterodimerizes and migrates to the nucleus, where it associates with IRF-9 and binds to the cognate response elements of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) (27, 46). Stat proteins generally are long-lived in uninfected cells, and their inactivation involves dephosphorylation by a nuclear phosphatase and recycling to the cytoplasm. It is interesting that both properties of C (Stat1 binding and instability) are seen in MEF and 2fTGH cells that have abundant constitutive levels of Stat1, whereas only Stat1 binding is seen in HeLa cells, which in our experience have very little Stat1. We measured the t1/2 of Stat1 in 2fTGH cells, and this protein is very stable and is synthesized at very low rates. If HeLa cells contain low levels of Stat1 because of higher turnover rates, a virus-induced further increase in these rates might not be visible in these circumstances. Moreover, in MEFs and 2fTGH cells, a rapid reduction in Stat1 levels would require its virus-induced degradation.
Although phosphorylation of Y701-Stat1 is critical for IFN-stimulated gene expression, it has become increasingly clear, most recently from DNA array studies of Stat1-minus U3A cells reconstituted with the mutant Y701F-Stat1 protein, that unphosphorylated Stat1 is also required for the constitutive expression of many genes (6). These include caspases 1, 2, and 3, which are involved in apoptosis, and LMP2, a subunit of the 20S proteasome that processes viral antigens for presentation to CD8+ T cells. As both apoptosis and antigen presentation are important elements of the cellular antiviral response, unphosphorylated Y701-Stat1 is presumably also a suitable target for viral countermeasures. The adenovirus E1A protein is known to downregulate LMP2 mRNA transcription by directly interfering with the binding of unphosphorylated Stat1 to IRF-1 (5). Moreover, Stat1 is a major transcriptional target of human papillomavirus type 31 (4). We presume that the SeV C-induced Stat1 instability also plays a role in viral countermeasures, and this may explain why only infections that express the longer C proteins can dismantle the antiviral (vesicular stomatitis virus) state of MEFs.
As mentioned above, most if not all paramyxoviruses induce STAT instability. The components of the IFN signaling pathway required for rubulavirus-induced Stat instability have recently been investigated (42). Neither the IFN-
/ß receptor nor the tyrosine kinases JAK1 and Tyk2 were required. Thus, surprisingly, rubulavirus-induced Stat degradation was found to be largely independent of IFN signal transduction. The SeV (respirovirus) C proteins share many of the properties of the rubulavirus V proteins; they both bind Stat1 and induce its ubiquitin-like modification and proteasomal (MG132-sensitive) degradation in an IFN-independent manner. Moreover, the SeV C and the mumps virus V proteins apparently bind to the same region of Stat1, as prebinding of mumps virus V to Stat1 prevents the subsequent binding of SeV C (41).
The direct interaction of these two paramyxovirus P gene products with apparently the same region of Stat1 presumably accounts for their ability to induce Stat1 instability independent of IFN signaling. However, whereas rubulaviruses require Stat2 to degrade Stat1, SeV does not (Fig. 4). Stat2 is required for rubulavirus-induced Stat1 degradation (and vice versa) because its V protein forms a heterotrimeric complex with Stat1 and Stat2 that is apparently required to target Stat1 (or Stat2) degradation (42). The SeV C and the rubulavirus V proteins differ further in that SV5 V does not induce pY701-Stat1 formation (Fig. 8). The other major difference is that only SeV C also interacts with Stat1 in an IFN-dependent manner, to block IFN signaling even in cells in which Stat1 levels are not decreased. These similarities and differences are summarized in Fig. 1B.
The central finding of this paper is that C interacts with Stat1 itself in two different ways. The first interaction, which can also be carried out by the shorter Y proteins, leads to the inhibition of IFN-induced pY701-Stat1 formation and IFN signaling, and the CF170S mutation abolishes these activities. The second interaction is IFN signaling independent and does not require F170, but can be carried out only by the longer C proteins. This interaction leads to Stat1 modification and instability and paradoxically to elevated pY701-Stat1 levels.
It is unclear how these two apparently opposing properties of C could be linked operationally, if indeed they are linked. The interaction of one protein with multiple partners is not uncommon, but its interaction in two different ways with the same partner is more unusual. A clue as to how C might interact differently with Stat1 has come from the realization that some proteins contain regions of "native disorder," as described for acidic activation domains of transcription factors that interact with multiple partners (52, 50). According to this view, native disorder allows these domains to bind different surfaces with high specificity (multiple induced fits) and limited stability (i.e., easy "off" rates that are useful in terminating interactions). The NH2-terminal portion of the measles virus P protein (which contains the overlapping C protein open reading frame) is, in fact, a recent example of such natively disordered proteins, in accordance with the prediction of algorithms that detect unstructured regions (28).
With the same algorithms (www.PONDR.com), the SeV C protein is strongly predicted to be natively disordered, and this property is shared with the common NH2-terminal portions of the rubulavirus V, I, and P proteins (25a; J. Curran and D. Kolakofsky, unpublished data). We have previously noted the astonishing property of the SeV C protein on SDS-PAGE, where deletions of 7 to 9 amino acids in the NH2-terminal portion of the protein paradoxically lead to reduced rather than increased electrophoretic mobility (8). These deletions and the
10-15 deletion are in the region of C with the highest prediction of disorder, and this aberrant electrophoretic behavior of C may be a property of natively disordered proteins.
The reasons why SeV would decrease Stat1 levels to its advantage are discussed above. The C-induced (IFN signaling-independent) increase in pY701-Stat1 levels, which occur even in cells in which bulk Stat1 levels decrease, however, is more difficult to fathom, as this modification is normally associated with antiviral activity. Only members of the Janus family of tyrosine kinases (JAK1 to JAK3 and Tyc2) are known to phosphorylate the STATs. However, other signaling receptors (e.g., interleukin-6 and platelet-derived growth factor) also phosphorylate Y701-Stat1, presumably by recruiting JAKs (46). Although C induces pY701-Stat1 formation in JAK1-minus U4A cells, we note that reconstitution of these cells with JAK1 strongly enhances C-induced pY701-Stat1 formation (Fig. 6B). JAK1 may therefore regulate the IFN signaling-independent Stat1 kinase or may itself be one of these kinases.
The Src family of tyrosine kinases may even be involved if C acts as an adaptor to connect Stat1 to the Src kinase. Interleukin-6 can also activate Stat1 in an IFN-independent manner in Stat3-/- MEFs (7, 47), and in this case this pY701-Stat1 acts in an IFN-like manner with regard to ISGs and an antiviral state. The SeV C-induced pY701-Stat1, in contrast, does not activate ISGs. We can speculate that the increased levels of pY701-Stat1 during SeV infection fail to activate ISGs because they are unable to dimerize with pY690-Stat2, as this heterodimer is formed only in a concerted fashion at the cytoplasmic face of the IFN-
/ß receptor (46).
Our results show that the pY701-Stat1 that accumulates during SeV infection does so independently of an IFN signaling system and is presumably not heterodimerized with pY690-Stat2. Activated Stat1 can also function to repress gene transcription is some cases (21). Given that the SeV C-induced pY701-Stat1 accumulates in the nucleus of infected HeLa cells (32), it is tempting to speculate that it might act there to negatively regulate ISGs. This could be an alternative way in which the SeV C gene blocks IFN action.
This work was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Fund.
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