Structural and Functional Dissection of the Human Cytomegalovirus Immune Evasion Protein US6

Insights into the Transcriptome of Human Cytomegalovirus: A Comprehensive Review

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread pathogen that poses significant risks to immunocompromised individuals. Its genome spans over 230 kbp and potentially encodes over 200 open-reading frames. The HCMV transcriptome consists of various types of RNAs, including messenger RNAs (mRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and microRNAs (miRNAs), with emerging insights into their biological functions. HCMV mRNAs are involved in crucial viral processes, such as viral replication, transcription, and translation regulation, as well as immune modulation and other effects on host cells. Additionally, four lncRNAs (RNA1.2, RNA2.7, RNA4.9, and RNA5.0) have been identified in HCMV, which play important roles in lytic replication like bypassing acute antiviral responses, promoting cell movement and viral spread, and maintaining HCMV latency. CircRNAs have gained attention for their important and diverse biological functions, including association with different diseases, acting as microRNA sponges, regulating parental gene expression, and serving as translation templates. Remarkably, HCMV encodes miRNAs which play critical roles in silencing human genes and other functions. This review gives an overview of human cytomegalovirus and current research on the HCMV transcriptome during lytic and latent infection.

Deciphering the Potential Coding of Human Cytomegalovirus: New Predicted Transmembrane Proteome

CMV is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals that will benefit from the availability of a vaccine. Despite the efforts made during the last decade, no CMV vaccine is available. An ideal CMV vaccine should elicit a broad immune response against multiple viral antigens including proteins involved in virus-cell interaction and entry. However, the therapeutic use of neutralizing antibodies targeting glycoproteins involved in viral entry achieved only partial protection against infection. In this scenario, a better understanding of the CMV proteome potentially involved in viral entry may provide novel candidates to include in new potential vaccine design. In this study, we aimed to explore the CMV genome to identify proteins with putative transmembrane domains to identify new potential viral envelope proteins. We have performed in silico analysis using the genome sequences of nine different CMV strains to predict the transmembrane domains of the encoded proteins. We have identified 77 proteins with transmembrane domains, 39 of which were present in all the strains and were highly conserved. Among the core proteins, 17 of them such as UL10, UL139 or US33A have no ascribed function and may be good candidates for further mechanistic studies.

Viral immune evasins impact antigen presentation by allele-specific trapping of MHC I at the peptide-loading complex

Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T cells to eliminate infected or cancerous cells. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) shuttles proteasomally generated peptides into the ER for MHC I loading. As central part of the peptide-loading complex (PLC), TAP is targeted by viral factors, which inhibit peptide supply and thereby impact MHC I-mediated immune responses. However, it is still poorly understood how antigen presentation via different MHC I allotypes is affected by TAP inhibition. Here, we show that conditional expression of herpes simplex viral ICP47 suppresses surface presentation of HLA-A and HLA-C, but not of HLA-B, while the human cytomegaloviral US6 reduces surface levels of all MHC I allotypes. This marked difference in HLA-B antigen presentation is echoed by an enrichment of HLA-B allomorphs at US6-arrested PLC in comparison to ICP47-PLC. Although both viral factors prevent TAP-mediated peptide supply, our data imply that MHC I allomorphs favor different conformationally arrested states of the PLC, leading to differential downregulation of MHC I surface presentation. These findings will help understand MHC I biology in general and will even advance the targeted treatment of infections depending on patients’ allotypes.

Multifunctional Chaperone and Quality Control Complexes in Adaptive Immunity

The fundamental process of adaptive immunity relies on the differentiation of self from nonself. Nucleated cells are continuously monitored by effector cells of the immune system, which police the peptide status presented via cell surface molecules. Recent integrative structural approaches have provided insights toward our understanding of how sophisticated cellular machineries shape such hierarchical immune surveillance. Biophysical and structural achievements were invaluable for defining the interconnection of many key factors during antigen processing and presentation, and helped to solve several conundrums that persisted for many years. In this review, we illuminate the numerous quality control machineries involved in different steps during the maturation of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) proteins, from their synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum to folding and trafficking via the secretory pathway, optimization of antigenic cargo, final release to the cell surface, and engagement with their cognate receptors on cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Battle between Host Immune Cellular Responses and HCMV Immune Evasion

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is ubiquitously prevalent. HCMV infection is typically asymptomatic and controlled by the immune system in healthy individuals, yet HCMV can be severely pathogenic for the fetus during pregnancy and in immunocompromised persons, such as transplant recipients or HIV infected patients. HCMV has co-evolved with the hosts, developed strategies to hide from immune effector cells and to successfully survive in the human organism. One strategy for evading or delaying the immune response is maintenance of the viral genome to establish the phase of latency. Furthermore, HCMV immune evasion involves the downregulation of human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-Ia molecules to hide infected cells from T-cell recognition. HCMV expresses several proteins that are described for downregulation of the HLA class I pathway via various mechanisms. Here, we review the wide range of immune evasion mechanisms of HCMV. Understanding the mechanisms of HCMV immune evasion will contribute to the development of new customized therapeutic strategies against the virus.

Inhibition of antigen presentation during AAV gene therapy using virus peptides

The clinical trial using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector delivery of mini-dystrophin in patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) demonstrated a cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) response targeting the transgene product. These mini-dystrophin-specific T-cells have the potential to clear all transduced muscle, presenting the general gene therapy concern of overcoming the CTL response to foreign proteins that provide therapeutic benefit. In this study, we exploited a natural immunosuppression strategy employed by some viruses that results in CTL evasion only in transduced cells. After transfection of the plasmids encoding viral peptides and ovalbumin, which includes the immune-domain epitope SIINFEKL, several viral small peptides (ICP47 and US6) inhibited the SIINFEKL peptide presentation. A single AAV vector genome that consisted of either transgene AAT fused with SIINFEKL epitope and, separately, ICP47 expressed from different promoters or a single fusion protein with ICP47 linked by a furin cleavage peptide (AATOVA-ICP47) decreased antigen presentation. Compared with AAV/AATOVA in which decreased AAT expression was observed at late time points, persistent transgene expression was obtained after systemic administration of AAV/AATOVA-ICP47 vectors in mice. We extended this strategy to DMD gene therapy. After administration of AAV vector encoding human mini-dystrophin fusion protein with ICP47 into mdx mice, a lower mini-dystrophin-specific CTL response was induced. Importantly, the ICP47 fusion to mini-dystrophin inhibited CTLs mediated cytotoxicity. Although demonstrated herein using AAT and mini-dystrophin transgenes in an AAV context, the collective results have implications for all gene therapy applications resulting in foreign peptides by immune suppression in only genetically modified cells.

Inducible TAP1 Negatively Regulates the Antiviral Innate Immune Response by Targeting the TAK1 Complex

The innate immune response is critical for host defense and must be tightly controlled, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for its negative regulation are not yet completely understood. In this study, we report that transporter 1, ATP-binding cassette, subfamily B (TAP1), a virus-inducible endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein, negatively regulated the virus-triggered immune response. In this study, we observed upregulated expression of TAP1 following virus infection in human lung epithelial cells (A549), THP-1 monocytes, HeLa cells, and Vero cells. The overexpression of TAP1 enhanced virus replication by inhibiting the virus-triggered activation of NF-κB signaling and the production of IFNs, IFN-stimulated genes, and proinflammatory cytokines. TAP1 depletion had the opposite effect. In response to virus infection, TAP1 interacted with the TGF-β-activated kinase (TAK)1 complex and impaired the phosphorylation of TAK1, subsequently suppressing the phosphorylation of the IκB kinase complex and NF-κB inhibitor α (IκBα) as well as NF-κB nuclear translocation. Our findings collectively suggest that TAP1 plays a novel role in the negative regulation of virus-triggered NF-κB signaling and the innate immune response by targeting the TAK1 complex.

HCMV Displays a Unique Transcriptome of Immunomodulatory Genes in Primary Monocyte-Derived Cell Types

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus which rarely presents problems in healthy individuals, yet may result in severe morbidity in immunocompromised patients and in immune-naïve neonates. HCMV has a large 235 kb genome with a coding capacity of at least 165 open reading frames (ORFs). This large genome allows complex gene regulation resulting in different sets of transcripts during lytic and latent infection. While latent virus mainly resides within monocytes and CD34+ progenitor cells, reactivation to lytic infection is driven by differentiation towards terminally differentiated myeloid dendritic cells and macrophages. Consequently, it has been suggested that macrophages and dendritic cells contribute to viral spread in vivo. Thus far only limited knowledge is available on the expression of HCMV genes in terminally differentiated myeloid primary cells and whether or not the virus exhibits a different set of lytic genes in primary cells compared with lytic infection in NHDF fibroblasts. To address these questions, we used Illumina next generation sequencing to determine the HCMV transcriptome in macrophages and dendritic cells during lytic infection and compared it to the transcriptome in NHDF fibroblasts. Here, we demonstrate unique expression profiles in macrophages and dendritic cells which significantly differ from the transcriptome in fibroblasts mainly by modulating the expression of viral transcripts involved in immune modulation, cell tropism and viral spread. In a head to head comparison between macrophages and dendritic cells, we observed that factors involved in viral spread and virion composition are differentially regulated suggesting that the plasticity of the virion facilitates the infection of surrounding cells. Taken together, this study provides the full transcript expression analysis of lytic HCMV genes in monocyte-derived type 1 and type 2 macrophages as well as in monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Thereby underlining the potential of HCMV to adapt to or influence different cellular environments to promote its own survival.

High-throughput analysis of human cytomegalovirus genome diversity highlights the widespread occurrence of gene-disrupting mutations and pervasive recombination

Human cytomegalovirus is a widespread pathogen of major medical importance. It causes significant morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised and congenital infections can result in severe disabilities or stillbirth. Development of a vaccine is prioritized, but no candidate is close to release. Although correlations of viral genetic variability with pathogenicity are suspected, knowledge about strain diversity of the 235kb genome is still limited. In this study, 96 full-length human cytomegalovirus genomes from clinical isolates were characterized, quadrupling the available information for full-genome analysis. These data provide the first high-resolution map of human cytomegalovirus interhost diversity and evolution. We show that cytomegalovirus is significantly more divergent than all other human herpesviruses and highlight hotspots of diversity in the genome. Importantly, 75% of strains are not genetically intact, but contain disruptive mutations in a diverse set of 26 genes, including immunomodulative genes UL40 and UL111A. These mutants are independent from culture passaging artifacts and circulate in natural populations. Pervasive recombination, which is linked to the widespread occurrence of multiple infections, was found throughout the genome. Recombination density was significantly higher than in other human herpesviruses and correlated with strain diversity. While the overall effects of strong purifying selection on virus evolution are apparent, evidence of diversifying selection was found in several genes encoding proteins that interact with the host immune system, including UL18, UL40, UL142 and UL147. These residues may present phylogenetic signatures of past and ongoing virus-host interactions.

IMPORTANCE

Human cytomegalovirus has the largest genome of all viruses that infect humans. Currently, there is a great interest in establishing associations between genetic variants and strain pathogenicity of this herpesvirus. Since the number of publicly available full-genome sequences is limited, knowledge about strain diversity is highly fragmented and biased towards a small set of loci. Combined with our previous work, we have now contributed 101 complete genome sequences. We have used these data to conduct the first high-resolution analysis of interhost genome diversity, providing an unbiased and comprehensive overview of cytomegalovirus variability. These data are of major value to the development of novel antivirals and a vaccine and to identify potential targets for genotype-phenotype experiments. Furthermore, they have enabled a thorough study of the evolutionary processes that have shaped cytomegalovirus diversity.

Classical and non-classical MHC I molecule manipulation by human cytomegalovirus: so many targets—but how many arrows in the quiver?

Major mechanisms for the recognition of pathogens by immune cells have evolved to employ classical and non-classical major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules. Classical MHC I molecules present antigenic peptide ligands on infected cells to CD8⁺ T cells, whereas a key function for non-classical MHC I molecules is to mediate inhibitory or activating stimuli in natural killer (NK) cells. The structural diversity of MHC I puts immense pressure on persisting viruses, including cytomegaloviruses. The very large coding capacity of the human cytomegalovirus allows it to express a whole arsenal of immunoevasive factors assigned to individual MHC class I targets. This review summarizes achievements from more than two decades of intense research on how human cytomegalovirus manipulates MHC I molecules and escapes elimination by the immune system.

Analysis of familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 4 (FHL-4) mutant proteins reveals that S-acylation is required for the function of syntaxin 11 in natural killer cells

Natural killer (NK) cell secretory lysosome exocytosis and cytotoxicity are impaired in familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 4 (FHL-4), a disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding the SNARE protein syntaxin 11. We show that syntaxin 11 binds to SNAP23 in NK cells and that this interaction is reduced by FHL-4 truncation and frameshift mutation proteins that delete all or part of the SNARE domain of syntaxin 11. In contrast the FHL-4 mutant proteins bound to the Sec-1/Munc18-like (SM) protein Munc18-2. We demonstrate that the C-terminal cysteine rich region of syntaxin 11, which is deleted in the FHL-4 mutants, is S-acylated. This posttranslational modification is required for the membrane association of syntaxin 11 and for its polarization to the immunological synapse in NK cells conjugated to target cells. Moreover, we show that Munc18-2 is recruited by syntaxin 11 to intracellular membranes in resting NK cells and to the immunological synapse in activated NK cells. This recruitment of Munc18-2 is abolished by deletion of the C-terminal cysteine rich region of syntaxin 11. These results suggest a pivotal role for S-acylation in the function of syntaxin 11 in NK cells.

Functional annotation of human cytomegalovirus gene products: an update

Human cytomegalovirus is an opportunistic double-stranded DNA virus with one of the largest viral genomes known. The 235 kB genome is divided in a unique long (UL) and a unique short (US) region which are flanked by terminal and internal repeats. The expression of HCMV genes is highly complex and involves the production of protein coding transcripts, polyadenylated long non-coding RNAs, polyadenylated anti-sense transcripts and a variety of non-polyadenylated RNAs such as microRNAs. Although the function of many of these transcripts is unknown, they are suggested to play a direct or regulatory role in the delicately orchestrated processes that ensure HCMV replication and life-long persistence. This review focuses on annotating the complete viral genome based on three sources of information. First, previous reviews were used as a template for the functional keywords to ensure continuity; second, the Uniprot database was used to further enrich the functional database; and finally, the literature was manually curated for novel functions of HCMV gene products. Novel discoveries were discussed in light of the viral life cycle. This functional annotation highlights still poorly understood regions of the genome but more importantly it can give insight in functional clusters and/or may be helpful in the analysis of future transcriptomics and proteomics studies.

Diverse immune evasion strategies by human cytomegalovirus

Members of the Herpesviridae family have the capacity to undergo both lytic and latent infection to establish a lifelong relationship with their host. Following primary infection, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can persist as a subclinical, recurrent infection for the lifetime of an individual. This quiescent portion of its life cycle is termed latency and is associated with periodic bouts of reactivation during times of immunosuppression, inflammation, or stress. In order to exist indefinitely and establish infection, HCMV encodes a multitude of immune modulatory mechanisms devoted to escaping the host antiviral response. HCMV has become a paradigm for studies of viral immune evasion of antigen presentation by both major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II molecules. By restricting the presentation of viral antigens during both productive and latent infection, HCMV limits elimination by the human immune system. This review will focus on understanding how the virus manipulates the pathways of antigen presentation in order to modulate the host response to infection.

Autophagy mediates transporter associated with antigen processing-independent presentation of viral epitopes through MHC class I pathway

The endogenous presentation of the majority of viral epitopes through MHC class I pathway is strictly dependent on the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) complex, which transfers the peptide products of proteasomal degradation into the endoplasmic reticulum. A small number of epitopes can be presented through the TAP-independent pathway, the precise mechanism for which remains largely unresolved. Here we show that TAP-independent presentation can be mediated by autophagy and that this process uses the vacuolar pathway and not the conventional secretory pathway. After macroautophagy, the antigen is processed through a proteasome-independent pathway, and the peptide epitopes are loaded within the autophagolysosomal compartment in a process facilitated by the relative acid stability of the peptide-MHC interaction. Despite bypassing much of the conventional MHC class I pathway, the autophagy-mediated pathway generates the same epitope as that generated through the conventional pathway and thus may have a role in circumventing viral immune evasion strategies that primarily target the conventional pathway.

Inhibition of mouse TAP by immune evasion molecules encoded by non-murine herpesviruses

Herpesviruses escape elimination by cytotoxic T lymphocytes through specific interference with the antigen-presenting function of MHC class I (MHC I) molecules. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) forms a bottleneck in the MHC I antigen presentation pathway. The fact that multiple viruses, especially herpesviruses, encode molecules blocking TAP function is a case in point. The action of these viral immuno evasins is usually potent and very specific, making these proteins valuable tools for studying the cell biology of antigen presentation, including alternative antigen processing pathways. Yet, no dedicated TAP inhibitor has been described for any of the mouse herpesviruses. To permit the use of immuno evasins derived from non-mouse herpesviruses in mouse models, we assessed the cross-species activity of four TAP inhibitors and one tapasin inhibitor in the context of three different mouse haplotypes, H-2(b), H-2(d), and H-2(k). Two of the four TAP inhibitors, the bovine herpesvirus 1-encoded UL49.5 and the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded US6 protein, potently inhibited mouse TAP. ICP47 and BNLF2a, encoded by herpes simplexvirus 1 and Epstein-Barr virus, respectively, failed to inhibit TAP in all mouse cells tested. Previous work, however, demonstrated that US6 did not cross the mouse species barrier. We now show that substitution of the cysteine residue at position 108 was responsible for this lack of activity. The HCMV-encoded tapasin inhibitor US3 efficiently downregulated H-2(d) molecules on 3T3 cells, but not in other cell lines tested. Finally, we show that synthetic peptides comprising the functional domain of US6 can be exploited as a versatile TAP inhibitor. In conclusion, a complete overview is presented of the applicability of herpesvirus-encoded TAP and tapasin inhibitors in mouse cells of different genetic background.

CD8+ T cell responses against TAP-inhibited cells are readily detected in the human population

Target cell recognition by CTLs depends on the presentation of peptides by HLA class I molecules. Tumors and herpes viruses have adopted strategies to greatly hamper this peptide presentation at the important bottleneck, the peptide transporter TAP. Previously, we described the existence of a CD8(+) CTL subpopulation that selectively recognizes such TAP-deficient cells in mouse models. In this study, we show that the human counterpart of this CTL subset is readily detectable in healthy subjects. Autologous PBMC cultures were initiated with dendritic cells rendered TAP-impaired by gene transfer of the viral evasion molecule UL49.5. Strikingly, specific reactivity to B-LCLs expressing one of the other viral TAP-inhibitors (US6, ICP47, or BNLF2a) was already observed after three rounds of stimulation. These short-term T cell cultures and isolated CD8(+) CTL clones derived thereof did not recognize the normal B-LCL, indicating that the cognate peptide-epitopes emerge at the cell surface upon an inhibition in the MHC class I processing pathway. A diverse set of TCRs was used by the clones, and the cellular reactivity was TCR-dependent and HLA class I-restricted, implying the involvement of a broad antigenic peptide repertoire. Our data indicate that the human CD8(+) T cell pool comprises a diverse reactivity to target cells with impairments in the intracellular processing pathway, and these might be exploited for cancers that are associated with such defects and for infections with immune-evading herpes viruses.

Quantifying how MHC polymorphism prevents pathogens from adapting to the antigen presentation pathway

The classical antigen presentation pathway consists of two monomorphic (proteasome and TAP) and one polymorphic components (MHC Class I). Viruses can escape CTL responses by mutating an epitope so that it is no longer correctly processed by the pathway. Whereas escape mutations that affect MHC binding are typically no longer under selection pressure in the next host of the virus (as hosts differ in their MHC alleles), escape mutations that affect the antigen processing of epitope precursors prevent the use of those epitope precursors by any of the MHC alleles in a host population. Viruses might therefore be under selection pressure to adapt to the monomorphic proteasome and TAP. We designed an agent-based model of a host population, in which an HIV-1 like virus adapts to the antigen presentation pathway of individual hosts, as the virus spreads through the population. We studied how the polymorphism of the MHC and the monomorphism of the proteasome and TAP affected the level of adaptation to the host population that the virus could reach. We found that due to the polymorphism and high specificity of the MHC class I molecules, the CTL epitopes that are targeted by the CTL responses of different hosts do not share many epitope precursors. Therefore, escape mutations in epitope precursors are frequently released from immune selection pressure, and can revert back to the virus wildtype sequence. As a result, the selection pressure on the virus to adapt to the proteasome and TAP is relatively small, which explains the low level of adaptation of the virus to the monomorphic steps in the antigen presentation pathway.

Herpesviruses and immunity: the art of evasion

Herpesviruses have evolved several effective strategies to counter the host immune response. Chief among these is inhibition of the host MHC class I antigen processing and presentation pathway, thereby reducing the presentation of virus-derived epitopes on the surface of the infected cell. This review summarizes the mechanisms used by herpesviruses to achieve this goal, including shut-down of MHC class I molecule synthesis, blockage of proteasome-mediated peptide generation and prevention of TAP-mediated peptide transport. Furthermore, herpesvirus proteins can retain MHC class I molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum, or direct their retrograde translocation from the endoplasmic reticulum or endocytosis from the plasma membrane, with subsequent degradation. The resulting down-regulation of cell surface MHC class I peptide complexes thwarts the ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to recognize and eliminate virus-infected cells. The subversion of the natural killer cell response by herpesvirus proteins and microRNAs is also discussed.

A modified inverse PCR procedure for insertion, deletion, or replacement of a DNA fragment in a target sequence and its application in the ligand interaction scan method for generation of ligand-regulated proteins

Functional analysis of a protein of interest, by generation of functional alterations in a target protein, often requires the performance of site-directed mutagenesis within the gene sequence. These manipulations are usually performed using "cut and paste" techniques, combined with PCR. Here we describe a simple and general procedure to specifically insert a DNA fragment into any site within a given DNA sequence. We demonstrate this insertional mutagenesis by describing the insertion of a tetracysteine (4C) hexapeptide-encoding sequence into the coding sequence of the antibiotic hydrolyzing enzyme TEM-1 beta-lactamase. This procedure could also be applied to insert different DNA sequences or to replace, or delete, existing fragments in a given gene. We have recently used this procedure to develop a general method (ligand interaction scan - LIScan) to generate ligand-regulated proteins.

Immune evasion during foot-and-mouth disease virus infection of swine

Summary: The interface between successful pathogens and their hosts is often a tenuous balance. In acute viral infections, this balance involves induction and inhibition of innate responses. Foot‐and‐mouth disease virus (FMDV) is considered one of the most contagious viruses known and is characterized by rapid induction of clinical disease in cloven hoofed animals exposed to infection. Viral shedding is extensive before the equally rapid resolution of acute disease. This positive strand RNA virus is an extremely successful pathogen, due in part to the ability to interrupt the innate immune response. Previous reviews have described the inhibition of cellular innate responses in the infected cell both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we present a review of virus inhibition of cells that are a source of antiviral function in swine. Particularly in the case of dendritic cells and natural killer cells, the virus has evolved mechanisms to interrupt the normal function of these important mediators of innate function, even though these cells are not infected by the virus. Understanding how this virus subverts the innate response will provide valuable information for the development of rapidly acting biotherapeutics to use in response to an outbreak of FMDV.

Feeling manipulated: cytomegalovirus immune manipulation

No one likes to feel like they have been manipulated, but in the case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immune manipulation, we do not really have much choice. Whether you call it CMV immune modulation, manipulation, or evasion, the bottom line is that CMV alters the immune response in such a way to allow the establishment of latency with lifelong shedding. With millions of years of coevolution within their hosts, CMVs, like other herpesviruses, encode numerous proteins that can broadly influence the magnitude and quality of both innate and adaptive immune responses. These viral proteins include both homologues of host proteins, such as MHC class I or chemokine homologues, and proteins with little similarity to any other known proteins, such as the chemokine binding protein. Although a strong immune response is launched against CMV, these virally encoded proteins can interfere with the host's ability to efficiently recognize and clear virus, while others induce or alter specific immune responses to benefit viral replication or spread within the host. Modulation of host immunity allows survival of both the virus and the host. One way of describing it would be a kind of "mutually assured survival" (as opposed to MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction). Evaluation of this relationship provides important insights into the life cycle of CMV as well as a greater understanding of the complexity of the immune response to pathogens in general.

Varicellovirus UL 49.5 proteins differentially affect the function of the transporter associated with antigen processing, TAP

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes play an important role in the protection against viral infections, which they detect through the recognition of virus-derived peptides, presented in the context of MHC class I molecules at the surface of the infected cell. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an essential role in MHC class I–restricted antigen presentation, as TAP imports peptides into the ER, where peptide loading of MHC class I molecules takes place. In this study, the UL49.5 proteins of the varicelloviruses bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are characterized as members of a novel class of viral immune evasion proteins. These UL49.5 proteins interfere with MHC class I antigen presentation by blocking the supply of antigenic peptides through inhibition of TAP. BHV-1, PRV, and EHV-1 recombinant viruses lacking UL49.5 no longer interfere with peptide transport. Combined with the observation that the individually expressed UL49.5 proteins block TAP as well, these data indicate that UL49.5 is the viral factor that is both necessary and sufficient to abolish TAP function during productive infection by these viruses. The mechanisms through which the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 block TAP exhibit surprising diversity. BHV-1 UL49.5 targets TAP for proteasomal degradation, whereas EHV-1 and EHV-4 UL49.5 interfere with the binding of ATP to TAP. In contrast, TAP stability and ATP recruitment are not affected by PRV UL49.5, although it has the capacity to arrest the peptide transporter in a translocation-incompetent state, a property shared with the BHV-1 and EHV-1 UL49.5. Taken together, these results classify the UL49.5 gene products of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 as members of a novel family of viral immune evasion proteins, inhibiting TAP through a variety of mechanisms.

Herpesviruses have the conspicuous property that they persist for life in the infected host. This is also the case for varicelloviruses, a large subfamily of herpesviruses with representatives in humans (varicella zoster virus or VZV), cattle (bovine herpesvirus 1 or BHV-1), pigs (pseudorabies virus or PRV), and horses (equine herpesvirus or EHV type 1 and 4), among many others. Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes play an important role in the protection against viral infections, which they detect through the recognition of virus-derived peptides, presented in the context of MHC class I molecules at the surface of the infected cell. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) plays an essential role in this process, as TAP imports peptides into the compartment where peptide loading of the MHC class I molecules takes place. In this study, we show that the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 all block the supply of peptides through the inhibition of TAP, but that the mechanisms employed by these proteins to inhibit TAP function exhibit surprising diversity. VZV UL49.5, on the other hand, binds to TAP, but does not interfere with peptide transport. Our study classifies the UL49.5 proteins of BHV-1, PRV, EHV-1, and EHV-4 as members of a novel family of viral immune evasion proteins, inhibiting TAP through a variety of mechanisms.