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Tofaute, M.J. ; Weller, B. ; Graß, C. ; Halder, H. ; Dohai, B.S.M. ; Falter-Braun, P. ; Krappmann, D.

SARS-CoV-2 NSP14 MTase activity is critical for inducing canonical NF-κB activation.

Biosci. Rep. 44:BSR20231418 (2024)
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Upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, patients with severe forms of COVID-19 often suffer from a dysregulated immune response and hyperinflammation. Aberrant expression of cytokines and chemokines is associated with strong activation of the immunoregulatory transcription factor NF-κB, which can be directly induced by the SARS-CoV-2 protein NSP14. Here, we use NSP14 mutants and generated cells with host factor knockouts (KO) in the NF-κB signaling pathways to characterize the molecular mechanism of NSP14-induced NF-κB activation. We demonstrate that full-length NSP14 requires methyltransferase (MTase) activity to drive NF-κB induction. NSP14 WT, but not an MTase-defective mutant, is poorly expressed and inherent post-translational instability is mediated by proteasomal degradation. Binding of SARS-CoV-2 NSP10 or addition of the co-factor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) stabilizes NSP14 and augments its potential to activate NF-κB. Using CRISPR/Cas9-engineered KO cells, we demonstrate that NSP14 stimulation of canonical NF-κB activation relies on NF-κB factor p65/RELA downstream of the NEMO/IKK complex, while c-Rel or non-canonical RelB are not required to induce NF-κB transcriptional activity. However, NSP14 overexpression is unable to induce canonical IκB kinase β (IKKβ)/NF-κB signaling and in co-immunoprecipitation assays we do not detect stable associations between NSP14 and NEMO or p65, suggesting that NSP14 activates NF-κB indirectly through its methyltransferase activity. Taken together, our data provide a framework how NSP14 can augment basal NF-κB activation, which may enhance cytokine expression in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Host-pathogen Interactions ; Methyltransferases ; Nuclear Factor Kappab; Kappa-b; Reveals; Complex; Domain
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0144-8463
e-ISSN 1573-4935
Journal Bioscience Reports
Quellenangaben Volume: 44, Issue: 1, Pages: , Article Number: BSR20231418 Supplement: ,
Publisher Portland Press
Publishing Place Colchester
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Research Unit Signaling and Translation (SAT)
Institute of Network Biology (INET)
Grants Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft