Oral Presentation Lorne Infection and Immunity 2022

TRIM25 and DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX3X cooperate to regulate RIG-I-mediated antiviral immunity (#4)

Sarah Atkinson 1 , Steven Heaton 2 , Michelle Audsley 3 , Oded Kleifeld 4 , Natalie A Borg 1
  1. RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
  2. Monash University, Clayton
  3. Monash University, Bundoora
  4. Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa

Tripartite motif protein 25 (TRIM25) is an E3 ligase that ubiquitinates multiple substrates within the retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)-like receptor (RLR) signalling cascade, with roles in IFN induction. Here, we show a novel interaction between TRIM25 and another protein in the RLR pathway that is essential for type I IFN induction, DEAD-box helicase 3X (DDX3X). In vitro assays and knockdown studies reveal that TRIM25 ubiquitinates DDX3X at lysine 55 (K55) and that TRIM25 and DDX3X cooperatively enhance IFNB1 induction following RIG-I activation, but the latter is independent of TRIM25's catalytic activity. We also show that the influenza A virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) disrupts the TRIM25:DDX3X interaction, abrogating both TRIM25-mediated ubiquitination of DDX3X and cooperative activation of the IFNB1 promoter. Our results reveal a new interplay between two RLR-host proteins that cooperatively enhance IFN-β production. We also uncover a new and further mechanism by which influenza A virus NS1 suppresses host antiviral defence.