Biology subjects

Domma, A. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Domma, A. J..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Human cytomegalovirus attenuates AKT activity by destabilizing insulin receptor substrate proteins

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway plays crucial roles in cell viability and protein synthesis and is frequently co-opted by viruses to support their replication. Although many viruses maintain high levels of AKT activity during infection, other viruses, such as vesicular stomatitis virus and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), cause AKT to accumulate in an inactive state. To efficiently replicate, HCMV requires FoxO transcription factors to localize to the infected cell nucleus (Zhang et. al. mBio 2022), a process directly antagonized by AKT. Therefore, we sought to investigate how HCMV inactivates AKT to achieve this. Subcellular fractionation and live cell imaging studies indicated that AKT failed to recruit to membranes upon serum-stimulation of infected cells. However, UV-inactivated virions were unable to render AKT non-responsive to serum, indicating a requirement for de novo viral gene expression. Interestingly, we were able to identify that UL38 (pUL38), a viral activator of mTORC1, is required to diminish AKT responsiveness to serum. mTORC1 contributes to insulin resistance by causing proteasomal degradation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins, such as IRS1, which are necessary for the recruitment of PI3K to growth factor receptors. In cells infected with a recombinant HCMV disrupted for UL38, AKT responsiveness to serum is retained and IRS1 is not degraded. Furthermore, ectopic expression of UL38 in uninfected cells induces IRS1 degradation, inactivating AKT. These effects of UL38 were reversed by the mTORC1 inhibitor, rapamycin. Collectively, our results demonstrate that HCMV relies upon a cell-intrinsic negative feedback loop to render AKT inactive during productive infection.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

The AKT Forkhead box O transcription factor axis regulates human cytomegalovirus replication

The serine/threonine protein kinase AKT is a critical mediator of growth factor signaling that broadly impacts mRNA translation, metabolism, programmed cell death and stress responses. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a large dsDNA virus in the herpesvirus family, dramatically remodels host cell signaling pathways during lytic infection. Here, we show that AKT accumulates in an inactive form during HCMV infection, as indicated by hypo-phosphorylation at Thr308 and Ser473, as well as nuclear localization of FOXO3a. Moreover, we find that expression of constitutively active myristoylated AKT (myr-AKT) causes a 1-log defect in viral replication, accompanied by defects in viral DNA synthesis and viral late gene expression. These findings suggest that HCMV shutoff of AKT is not merely incidental to viral factors such as pUL38 that maintain high levels of mTORC1 activity independently of extracellular growth factor signals. Short interfering RNA knockdown of FOXO3a, but not FOXO1, phenocopied the replication defects seen during expression of myr-AKT, corroborating a role for FOXO3a during HCMV infection. Accordingly, a chimeric FOXO3a-estrogen receptor fusion protein, whose nuclear localization is regulated by the small molecule ligand 4-hydroxytamoxifen instead of AKT activity, rescues virtually all the replication defects induced by myr-AKT expression. Taken together, our results argue that HCMV dampens AKT signaling to promote nuclear localization of FOXO transcription factors, which are required for efficient viral replication. IMPORTANCEEvidence from a diverse herpesvirus infection models suggests that the PI3K / AKT signaling pathway suppresses reactivation from latency, and that inactivation of the pathway stimulates viral lytic replication. Here, we show that AKT accumulates in an inactive state during HCMV infection of lytically permissive cells while the presence of constitutive AKT activity causes substantial viral replication defects. Although AKT phosphorylates a diverse array of cellular substrates, we identify an important role for the Forkhead box class O transcription factors. Our findings show that when FoxO3a nuclear localization is decoupled from its negative regulation by AKT, the viral replication defects observed in the presence of constitutively active AKT are reversed. Collectively, our results reveal that HCMV inactivates AKT to promote the nuclear localization of FOXO transcription factors, which strongly implies that FOXOs play critical roles in transactivating cellular and/or viral genes during infection.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

ER reorganization and intracellular retention of CD58 are functionally independent properties of the human cytomegalovirus ER resident glycoprotein UL148

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident glycoprotein UL148 is posited to play roles in immune evasion and regulation of viral cell tropism. UL148 prevents cell surface presentation of the immune cell costimulatory ligand CD58 while promoting maturation and virion incorporation of glycoprotein O, a receptor binding subunit for an envelope glycoprotein complex involved in entry. Meanwhile, UL148 activates the unfolded protein response (UPR) and causes large-scale reorganization of the ER. In an effort to determine whether the seemingly disparate effects of UL148 are related or discrete, we generated charged-cluster-to-alanine (CCTA) mutants of six charged clusters within the UL148 ectodomain, and compared them against wildtype UL148, in the context of recombinant viruses and in ectopic expression, assaying for effects on ER remodeling and CD58 surface presentation. Two mutants, targeting charged clusters spanning residues 79-83 (CC3) and 133-136 (CC4), respectively, retained the potential to impede CD58 presentation, and did so to an extent comparable to wildtype. Of the six mutants, only CC3 retained the capacity to reorganize the ER, showing a partial phenotype. Wildtype UL148 accumulates in a detergent-insoluble form during infection. However, all six CCTA mutants were fully soluble, which may imply a relationship between insolubility and organelle remodeling. Additionally, we found that the chimpanzee cytomegalovirus UL148 homolog suppresses CD58 presentation but fails to reorganize the ER, while the homolog from rhesus cytomegalovirus shows neither activity. Collectively, our findings illustrate varying degrees of functional divergence between homologous primate cytomegalovirus immunevasins and suggest that ER reorganization is unique to HCMV UL148.\n\nIMPORTANCEIn myriad examples, viral gene products cause striking effects on cells, such as activation of stress responses. It can be challenging to decipher how such effects contribute to the biological roles of the proteins. The HCMV glycoprotein UL148 retains CD58 within the ER, thereby preventing it from reaching the cell surface where it functions to stimulate cell-mediated antiviral responses. Intriguingly, UL148 also triggers the formation of large, ER-derived membranous structures, and activates the UPR, a set of signaling pathways involved in adaptation to ER stress. We demonstrate that the potential of UL148 to reorganize the ER and to retain CD58 are separable by mutagenesis and possibly, by evolution, since chimpanzee cytomegalovirus UL148 retains CD58 but does not remodel the ER. Our findings imply that ER reorganization contributes to other roles of UL148, such as modulation of alternative viral glycoprotein complexes that govern the virus ability to infect different cell types.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

The human cytomegalovirus ER resident glycoprotein UL148 activates the unfolded protein response

Eukaryotic cells are equipped with three sensors that respond to the accumulation of misfolded proteins within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by activating the unfolded protein response (UPR), which functions to resolve proteotoxic stresses involving the secretory pathway. Here, we identify UL148, a viral ER resident glycoprotein from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), as an inducer of the UPR. Metabolic labeling results indicate that global mRNA translation is markedly decreased when UL148 expression is induced in uninfected cells. Further, we find evidence suggesting that ectopic expression of UL148 is sufficient to activate at least two UPR sensors: the inositol requiring enzyme-1 (IRE1), as indicated by splicing of Xbp1 mRNA, and the PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), as indicated by phosphorylation of eIF2 and accumulation of ATF4 protein. During wild-type HCMV infection, Xbp-1 splicing, eIF2 phosphorylation and ATF4 accumulation neatly accompanied the onset of UL148 expression. However, the appearance of these UPR indicators was either markedly delayed or absent during UL148-null infections. siRNA depletion of PERK dampened the extent of eIF2 phosphorylation and ATF4 induction observed during wild-type infection, implicating PERK as opposed to other eIF2 kinases. A virus disrupted for UL148 showed statistically significant 2- to 4-fold decreases during infection in the levels of transcripts canonically regulated by PERK/ATF4 and by the ATF6 pathway.Taken together, our results argue that UL148 is sufficient to activate the UPR when expressed ectopically and that UL148 is an important cause of UPR activation in the context of the HCMV infected cell.\n\nIMPORTANCEThe unfolded protein response (UPR) is an ancient cellular response to ER stress of broad importance to viruses. Certain consequences of the UPR, including mRNA degradation and translational shut-off, would presumably be disadvantageous to viruses, while other attributes of the UPR, such as ER expansion and upregulation of protein folding chaperones, might enhance viral replication. Although HCMV is estimated to express at least 200 distinct viral proteins, we show that the HCMV ER resident glycoprotein UL148 contributes substantially to the UPR during infection, and moreover is sufficient to activate the UPR in non-infected cells. Experimental activation of the UPR in mammalian cells is difficult to achieve without the use of toxins. Therefore, UL148 may provide a new tool to investigate fundamental aspects of the UPR. Furthermore, our findings may have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of UL148 on HCMV cell tropism and evasion of cell mediated immunity.

microbiology↗