Interferon regulatory factor 1 restricts gammaherpesvirus replication in primary immune cells. J Virol 2014 Jun;88(12):6993-7004
Date
04/11/2014Pubmed ID
24719409Pubmed Central ID
PMC4054362DOI
10.1128/JVI.00638-14Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84901325260 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 47 CitationsAbstract
UNLABELLED: Gammaherpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens that establish a lifelong infection and are associated with cancer. In spite of the high seroprevalence of infection, the risk factors that predispose the host toward gammaherpesvirus-induced malignancies are still poorly understood. Interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is a tumor suppressor that is also involved in the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. On the basis of its biology, IRF-1 represents a plausible host factor to attenuate gammaherpesvirus infection and tumorigenesis. In this study, we show that IRF-1 restricts gammaherpesvirus replication in primary macrophages, a physiologically relevant immune cell type. In spite of the known role of IRF-1 in stimulating type I IFN expression, induction of a global type I IFN response was similar in IRF-1-deficient and -proficient macrophages during gammaherpesvirus infection. However, IRF-1 was required for optimal expression of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase, a host enzyme that restricted gammaherpesvirus replication in primary macrophages and contributed to the antiviral effects of IRF-1. In summary, the current study provides an insight into the mechanism by which IRF-1 attenuates gammaherpesvirus replication in primary immune cells, a mechanism that is likely to contribute to the antiviral effects of IRF-1 in other virus systems.
IMPORTANCE: Interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is a transcription factor that regulates innate and adaptive immune responses and functions as a tumor suppressor. IRF-1 restricts the replication of diverse viruses; however, the mechanisms responsible for the antiviral effects of IRF-1 are still poorly understood. Gammaherpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens that are associated with the induction of several malignancies. Here we show that IRF-1 expression attenuates gammaherpesvirus replication in primary macrophages, in part by increasing expression of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H). CH25H and its product, 25-hydroxycholesterol, restrict replication of diverse virus families. Thus, our findings offer an insight into the mechanism by which IRF-1 attenuates the replication of gammaherpesviruses, a mechanism that is likely to be applicable to other virus systems.
Author List
Mboko WP, Mounce BC, Emmer J, Darrah E, Patel SB, Tarakanova VLAuthor
Vera Tarakanova PhD Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsCells, Cultured
Herpesviridae Infections
Interferon Regulatory Factor-1
Interferon Type I
Macrophages
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Knockout
Rhadinovirus
Rodent Diseases
Virus Replication