1. Academic Validation
  2. The protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 promotes TBK1 activation through asymmetric arginine methylation

The protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT1 promotes TBK1 activation through asymmetric arginine methylation

  • Cell Rep. 2021 Sep 21;36(12):109731. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109731.
Zhenzhen Yan 1 Haifeng Wu 1 Hansen Liu 1 Guimin Zhao 1 Honghai Zhang 1 Wanxin Zhuang 1 Feng Liu 1 Yi Zheng 1 Bingyu Liu 1 Lei Zhang 1 Chengjiang Gao 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity of Shandong Province and Department of Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
  • 2 Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity of Shandong Province and Department of Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China. Electronic address: cgao@sdu.edu.cn.
Abstract

TBK1 is an essential kinase for the innate immune response against viral Infection. However, the key molecular mechanisms regulating the TBK1 activation remain elusive. Here, we identify PRMT1, a type I protein arginine methyltransferase, as an essential regulator of TBK1 activation. PRMT1 directly interacts with TBK1 and catalyzes asymmetric methylation of R54, R134, and R228 on TBK1. This modification enhances TBK1 oligomerization after viral Infection, which subsequently promotes TBK1 phosphorylation and downstream type I interferon production. More important, myeloid-specific PRMT1 knockout mice are more susceptible to Infection with DNA and RNA viruses than PRMT1fl/fl mice. Our findings reveal insights into the molecular regulation of TBK1 activation and demonstrate the essential function of protein arginine methylation in innate Antiviral immunity.

Keywords

PRMT1; TBK1; innate antiviral immunity; protein arginine methylation.

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