TRIM dsDNA sensor to restrict innate immune response

To TRIM the Immunity: From Innate to Adaptive Immunity

The tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins have been intensively studied as essential modulators in various biological processes, especially in regulating a wide range of signaling pathways involved in immune responses. Most TRIM proteins have E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, mediating polyubiquitination of target proteins. Emerging evidence demonstrates that TRIM proteins play important roles in innate immunity by regulating pattern recognition receptors, vital adaptor proteins, kinases, and transcription factors in innate immune signaling pathways. Additionally, the critical roles of TRIM proteins in adaptive immunity, especially in T cell development and activation, are increasingly appreciated. In this review, we aim to summarize the studies on TRIMs in both innate and adaptive immunity, focusing on their E3 ubiquitin ligase functions in pattern recognition receptor signaling pathways and T cell functions, shedding light on the developing new strategies for modulating innate and adaptive immune responses against invading pathogens and avoiding autoimmunity.

TRIM65-catalized ubiquitination is essential for MDA5-mediated antiviral innate immunity

MDA5 plays a critical role in antiviral innate immunity by functioning as a cytoplasmic double-stranded RNA sensor that can activate type I interferon signaling pathways, but the mechanism for the activation of MDA5 is poorly understood. Here, we show that TRIM65 specifically interacts with MDA5 and promotes K63-linked ubiquitination of MDA5 at lysine 743, which is critical for MDA5 oligomerization and activation. Trim65 deficiency abolishes MDA5 agonist or encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV)-induced interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) activation and type I interferon production but has no effect on retinoic acid-inducible I (RIG-I), Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), or cyclic GMP-AMP synthase signaling pathways. Importantly, Trim65^-/- mice are more susceptible to EMCV infection than controls and cannot produce type I interferon in vivo. Collectively, our results identify TRIM65 as an essential component for the MDA5 signaling pathway and provide physiological evidence showing that ubiquitination is important for MDA5 oligomerization and activation.

Control of FoxO4 Activity and Cell Survival by TRIM22 Directs TLR3-Stimulated Cells Toward IFN Type I Gene Induction or Apoptosis

Activation of innate immune response, induced after the recognition of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), formed during replication of most viruses, results in intracellular signaling cascades ultimately culminating in the expression of type I interferon (IFN). In this study, we provide the first evidence that FoxO4 triggers the activation of the innate immune signaling pathway in coupling stimulation of TLR3 and RIG-like receptors by the synthetic dsRNA analog, poly(I:C), to IFN-β and IFN-induced gene induction, whereas knockdown of FoxO4 had opposite effects. Similar effects of FoxO4 were observed during paramyxovirus-mediated IFN-β transcriptional induction. We further found that knockdown of FoxO4 did not affect IRF3 and NF-κB activation by poly(I:C), suggesting that FoxO4 would act downstream in the signaling pathway. In addition, we show that the IFN-induced TRIM22 ubiquitin ligase targets FoxO4 and antagonizes its activity through an unrelated ubiquitin/autophagosomic-lysosomal pathway. Unexpectedly, TRIM22 knockdown strongly sensitizes cells to dsRNA-induced caspase-dependent apoptosis, as early as 2 h after poly(I:C) stimulation, concomitantly to the inhibition of the expression of the antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-2, indicating that TRIM22 might be a key factor for controlling the cell survival after TLR3 stimulation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the regulation of FoxO4 protein expression and cell survival by TRIM22 controls TLR3-mediated IFN type I gene induction, preventing excessive antiviral response through dsRNA-induced apoptosis.