Serine cluster phosphorylation liberates the C-terminal helix of IFN regulatory factor 7 to bind histone acetyltransferase p300

Insight into the role of IRF7 in skin and connective tissue diseases

Interferons (IFNs) are signalling proteins primarily involved in initiating innate immune responses against pathogens and promoting the maturation of immune cells. Interferon Regulatory Factor 7 (IRF7) plays a pivotal role in the IFNs signalling pathway. The activation process of IRF7 is incited by exogenous or abnormal nucleic acids, which is followed by the identification via pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and the ensuing signalling cascades. Upon activation, IRF7 modulates the expression of both IFNs and inflammatory gene regulation. As a multifunctional transcription factor, IRF7 is mainly expressed in immune cells, yet its presence is also detected in keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and various dermal cell types. In these cells, IRF7 is critical for skin immunity, inflammation, and fibrosis. IRF7 dysregulation may lead to autoimmune and inflammatory skin conditions, including systemic scleroderma (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Atopic dermatitis (AD) and Psoriasis. This comprehensive review aims to extensively elucidate the role of IRF7 and its signalling pathways in immune cells and keratinocytes, highlighting its significance in skin-related and connective tissue diseases.

SAMHD1 impairs type I interferon induction through the MAVS, IKKε, and IRF7 signaling axis during viral infection

Sterile alpha motif and HD domain-containing protein 1 (SAMHD1) restricts human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection by reducing the intracellular dNTP pool. We have shown that SAMHD1 suppresses nuclear factor kappa-B activation and type I interferon (IFN-I) induction by viral infection and inflammatory stimuli. However, the mechanism by which SAMHD1 inhibits IFN-I remains unclear. Here, we show that SAMHD1 inhibits IFN-I activation induced by the mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS). SAMHD1 interacted with MAVS and suppressed MAVS aggregation in response to Sendai virus infection in human monocytic THP-1 cells. This resulted in increased phosphorylation of TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1), inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase epsilon (IKKε), and IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). SAMHD1 suppressed IFN-I activation induced by IKKε and prevented IRF7 binding to the kinase domain of IKKε. We found that SAMHD1 interaction with the inhibitory domain (ID) of IRF7 (IRF7-ID) was necessary and sufficient for SAMHD1 suppression of IRF7-mediated IFN-I activation in HEK293T cells. Computational docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed possible binding sites between IRF7-ID and full-length SAMHD1. Individual substitution of F411, E416, or V460 in IRF7-ID significantly reduced IRF7 transactivation activity and SAMHD1 binding. Furthermore, we investigated the role of SAMHD1 inhibition of IRF7-mediated IFN-I induction during HIV-1 infection. We found that THP-1 cells lacking IRF7 expression had reduced HIV-1 infection and viral transcription compared to control cells, indicating a positive role of IRF7 in HIV-1 infection. Our findings suggest that SAMHD1 suppresses IFN-I induction through the MAVS, IKKε, and IRF7 signaling axis.

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Membrane Protein Interacted with IRF7 to Inhibit Type I IFN Production during Viral Infection

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly pathogenic porcine enteropathogenic coronavirus causing severe enteritis and lethal watery diarrhea in piglets. PEDV infection suppresses the synthesis of type I IFN, and multiple viral proteins of PEDV have been shown to target the adaptors of innate immune pathways to inhibit type I IFN production. In this study, we identified PEDV membrane (M) protein as a new antagonist of type I IFN production in both human embryonic kidney HEK293T cells and porcine kidney PK-15 cells and determined the antagonistic mechanism used by M protein to target IFN regulatory factor 7 (IRF7), an important regulator of type I IFN production. IRF7 is phosphorylated and activated by TBK1 and IKKε in response to viral infection. We found that PEDV M protein interacted with the inhibitory domain of IRF7 and significantly suppressed TBK1/IKKε-induced IRF7 phosphorylation and dimerization of IRF7, leading to the decreased expression of type I IFN, although it did not affect the interaction between TBK1/IKKε and IRF7. As expected, overexpression of M protein significantly increased PEDV replication in porcine cells. The M proteins of both epidemic PEDV strains and vaccine strain showed similar antagonistic effect on type I IFN production, and the 1-55 region of M protein was essential for disruption of IRF7 function by interacting with IRF7. Taken together, our data identified a new, to our knowledge, IFN antagonist of PEDV, as well as a novel, to our knowledge, antagonistic mechanism evolved by PEDV to inhibit type I IFN production.

Human Metapneumovirus M2-2 Protein Acts as a Negative Regulator of Alpha Interferon Production by Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) has the ability to inhibit Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)- and TLR9-dependent alpha interferon (IFN-α) production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). However, the inhibition mechanism remains largely unknown. To identify viral proteins responsible for this inhibition, we performed a screening of HMPV open reading frames (ORFs) for the ability to block TLR7/9-dependent signaling reconstituted in HEK293T cells by transfection with myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), IKKα, and IFN regulatory factor 7 (IRF7). This screening demonstrated that the M2-2 protein was the most potent inhibitor of TLR7/9-dependent IFN-α induction. A recombinant HMPV in which the M2-2 ORF was silenced indeed induced greater IFN-α production by human pDCs than wild-type HMPV did. Immunoprecipitation experiments showed direct physical association of the M2-2 protein with the inhibitory domain (ID) of IRF7. As a natural consequence of this, transfection of IRF7 lacking the ID, a constitutively active mutant, resulted in activation of the IFN-α promoter even in the presence of M2-2. Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assays and split Renilla luciferase complementation assays revealed that M2-2 inhibited MyD88/TRAF6/IKKα-induced homodimerization of IRF7. In contrast, expression of the M2-2 protein did not result in inhibition of IPS-1-induced homodimerization and resultant activation of IRF7. This indicates that inhibition of MyD88/TRAF6/IKKα-induced IRF7 homodimerization does not result from a steric effect of M2-2 binding. Instead, it was found that M2-2 inhibited MyD88/TRAF6/IKKα-induced phosphorylation of IRF7 on Ser477. These results suggest that M2-2 blocks TLR7/9-dependent IFN-α induction by preventing IRF7 homodimerization, possibly through its effects on the phosphorylation status of IRF7.IMPORTANCE The family Paramyxoviridae is divided into two subfamilies, the Paramyxovirinae and the Pneumovirinae Members of the subfamily Paramyxovirinae have the ability to inhibit TLR7/9-dependent IFN-α production, and the underlying inhibition mechanism has been intensively studied. In contrast, little is known about how members of the subfamily Pneumovirinae regulate IFN-α production by pDCs. We identified the M2-2 protein of HMPV, a member of the subfamily Pneumovirinae, as a negative regulator of IFN-α production by pDCs and uncovered the underlying mechanism. This study explains in part why the M2-2 knockout recombinant HMPV is attenuated and further suggests that M2-2 is a potential target for HMPV therapy.