Impact of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 and its variant polymorphisms on host responses and viral pathogenesis.

Kehrer, T.; Cupic, A.; Ye, C.; Yildiz, S.; Bouhhadou, M.; Crossland, N. A.; Barrall, E.; Cohen, P.; Tseng, A.; Cagatay, T.; Rathnasinghe, R.; Flores, D.; Jangra, S.; Alam, F.; Mena, N.; Aslam, S.; Saqi, A.; Marin, A.; Rutkowska, M.; Ummadi, M. R.; Pisanelli, G.; Richardson, R. B.; Veit, E. C.; Fabius, J. M. A.; Soucheray, M.; Polacco, B. J.; Evans, M. J.; Swaney, D. L.; Gonzalez-Reiche, A. S.; Sordillo, E. M.; van Bakel, H.; Simon, V.; Zuliani-Alvarez, L.; Fontoura, B. M. A.; Rosenberg, B. R.; Krogan, N. J.; Martinez-Sobrido, L.; Garcia-Sastre, A.; Miorin, L.

doi:10.1101/2022.10.18.512708

Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2022.10.18.512708

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 and its variant polymorphisms on host responses and viral pathogenesis.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We and others have previously shown that the SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein ORF6 is a powerful antagonist of the interferon (IFN) signaling pathway by directly interacting with Nup98-Rae1 at the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and disrupting bidirectional nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking. In this study, we further assessed the role of ORF6 during infection using recombinant SARS-CoV-2 viruses carrying either a deletion or a well characterized M58R loss-of-function mutation in ORF6. We show that ORF6 plays a key role in the antagonism of IFN signaling and in viral pathogenesis by interfering with karyopherin(importin)-mediated nuclear import during SARS-CoV-2 infection both in vitro, and in the Syrian golden hamster model in vivo. In addition, we found that ORF6-Nup98 interaction also contributes to inhibition of cellular mRNA export during SARS-CoV-2 infection. As a result, ORF6 expression significantly remodels the host cell proteome upon infection. Importantly, we also unravel a previously unrecognized function of ORF6 in the modulation of viral protein expression, which is independent of its function at the nuclear pore. Lastly, we characterized the ORF6 D61L mutation that recently emerged in Omicron BA.2 and BA.4 and demonstrated that it is able to disrupt ORF6 protein functions at the NPC and to impair SARS-CoV-2 innate immune evasion strategies. Importantly, the now more abundant Omicron BA.5 lacks this loss-of-function polymorphism in ORF6. Altogether, our findings not only further highlight the key role of ORF6 in the antagonism of the antiviral innate immune response, but also emphasize the importance of studying the role of non-spike mutations to better understand the mechanisms governing differential pathogenicity and immune evasion strategies of SARS-CoV-2 and its evolving variants. ONE SENTENCE SUMMARYSARS-CoV-2 ORF6 subverts bidirectional nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking to inhibit host gene expression and contribute to viral pathogenesis.

Source connections

Published article ↗

Explore related subjects

microbiology Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Kehrer, T., Cupic, A., Ye, C., Yildiz, S., Bouhhadou, M., Crossland, N. A., Barrall, E., Cohen, P., Tseng, A., Cagatay, T., Rathnasinghe, R., Flores, D., Jangra, S., Alam, F., Mena, N., Aslam, S., Saqi, A., Marin, A., Rutkowska, M., Ummadi, M. R., Pisanelli, G., Richardson, R. B., Veit, E. C., Fabius, J. M. A., Soucheray, M., Polacco, B. J., Evans, M. J., Swaney, D. L., Gonzalez-Reiche, A. S., Sordillo, E. M., van Bakel, H., Simon, V., Zuliani-Alvarez, L., Fontoura, B. M. A., Rosenberg, B. R., Krogan, N. J., Martinez-Sobrido, L., Garcia-Sastre, A., Miorin, L.. 2022-10-19. Impact of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 and its variant polymorphisms on host responses and viral pathogenesis.. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.10.18.512708

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

A conserved cysteine-histidine-glutamate metal site identifies DUF501 (Rv1025), an essential uncharacterised protein family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a candidate metalloenzyme and drug target

A substantial fraction of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteome remains functionally uncharacterised. Rv1025, a 155-residue protein carrying the domain of unknown function DUF501 (Pfam PF04417), is essential by transposon mutagenesis and vulnerable by CRISPR interference, an attractive but neglected drug target, yet has never been functionally described. The family (4,370 proteins, no Gene Ontology term, no solved structure) is uncharacterised across all organisms and essential in three Actinobacterial genera. A Foldseek search of the AlphaFold model against complete structural databases finds no significant homolog, indicating a novel fold. The operon eno-divIC-Rv1025-ppx2 is conserved across the Actinobacteria phylum, yet AlphaFold-Multimer finds no direct complex between Rv1025 and its neighbour DivIC. Instead, conservation across 8,700 homologous sequences reveals a near-invariant Cys113-His115-Glu59 cluster forming a pocket. Holo AlphaFold3 predictions with Zn, Fe and Mn confidently place a divalent metal on this triad at 2.25-2.47 A; mutating the triad relocates the metal, and an independent backbone-geometry predictor recovers the same site, confirming specificity. The triad is universal across the family: present in all 1,472 near-complete bacterial sequences of the Pfam alignment, with no non-conservative substitution among the 2,228 sequences examined, a defining feature of bacterial DUF501 rather than a mycobacterial peculiarity. We propose that DUF501 is a metal-binding protein and candidate metalloenzyme, the first functional hypothesis for this family, whose conserved, essential metal pocket is a promising drug target. As the predictions build on a conservation-defined site within a fully computational study, they are supportive rather than proof of metal occupancy and warrant experimental validation.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Mycoplasmal endosymbionts of Trichomonas vaginalis are associated with reduced risk for Chlamydia trachomatis endometrial infection in asymptomatic, coinfected, women.

Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan parasite that causes trichomoniasis, the most common curable non-viral sexually transmitted infection, and Chlamydia trachomatis is a bacterial pathogen that can ascend to the upper genital tract and cause pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. T. vaginalis harbors bacterial endosymbionts, including Candidatus Malacoplasma girerdii, an obligate symbiont, and Metamycoplasma hominis, which can live freely or symbiotically. In a 16S rRNA sequencing study of the cervicovaginal microbiome of women at high risk for chlamydial infection, Ca. M. girerdii abundance was one of 13 features predicting lack of chlamydial spread to the endometrium, despite no direct association between T. vaginalis infection and reduced chlamydial ascension. Investigating the relationship between these microorganisms further, we found that T. vaginalis vaginal abundance correlated positively with chlamydial burden in women whose infection was confined to the cervix, while a nonsignificant inverse relationship was seen in women with endometrial spread. Among participants with high chlamydial burden, Ca. M. girerdii was detected exclusively in women without endometrial infection. Both endosymbionts trended toward more frequent detection, and higher abundance, in coinfected women without endometrial spread, while M. hominis abundance correlated strongly with T. vaginalis burden in this group. These findings suggest that mycoplasmal endosymbionts of T. vaginalis, rather than T. vaginalis itself, are microbial factors limiting chlamydial ascension, and point to a three-way interaction between parasite, endosymbiont, and bacterial pathogen that shapes upper genital tract C. trachomatis infection risk.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Understanding the physiological alterations of Vibrio cholerae upon exposure to L-ascorbic acid

The scourge of cholera remains a major global public health threat. It affects up to 4 million people worldwide and causes tens of thousands of deaths each year. The disease is experiencing a concerning resurgence in many parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. To effectively tackle cholera and circumvent rising antimicrobial resistance, targeted biological and preventive approaches, complementing traditional rehydration, are urgently needed. In this regard, our group has demonstrated the efficacy of L-ascorbic acid in controlling the growth and pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae in vitro. The present work further provides a mechanistic elucidation of the L-ascorbic acid-mediated physiological changes in V. cholerae and also bolsters such a non-antibiotic approach to control cholera.

microbiology↗