1. Academic Validation
  2. RIPK3 promotes hantaviral replication by restricting JAK-STAT signaling without triggering necroptosis

RIPK3 promotes hantaviral replication by restricting JAK-STAT signaling without triggering necroptosis

  • Virol Sin. 2023 Aug 24;S1995-820X(23)00104-9. doi: 10.1016/j.virs.2023.08.006.
Yue Si 1 Haijun Zhang 2 Ziqing Zhou 1 Xudong Zhu 1 Yongheng Yang 1 He Liu 1 Liang Zhang 1 Linfeng Cheng 1 Kerong Wang 1 Wei Ye 1 Xin Lv 1 Xijing Zhang 3 Wugang Hou 3 Gang Zhao 4 Yingfeng Lei 5 Fanglin Zhang 6 Hongwei Ma 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
  • 2 Department of Neurology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China; Center of Clinical Aerospace Medicine, School of Aerospace Medicine, Key Laboratory of Aerospace Medicine of Ministry of Education, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
  • 3 Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
  • 4 Department of Neurology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China; The College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Northwest University, Xi'an, 710069, China.
  • 5 Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China. Electronic address: yflei@fmmu.edu.cn.
  • 6 Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China. Electronic address: flzhang@fmmu.edu.cn.
  • 7 Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China; Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China. Electronic address: mahongwei0720@sina.com.
Abstract

Hantaan virus (HTNV) is a rodent-borne virus that causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), resulting in a high mortality rate of 15%. Interferons (IFNs) play a critical role in the anti-hantaviral immune response, and IFN pretreatment efficiently restricts HTNV Infection by triggering the expression of a series of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) through the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (JAK-STAT) pathway. However, the tremendous amount of IFNs produced during late Infection could not restrain HTNV replication, and the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3), a crucial molecule that mediates Necroptosis, was activated by HTNV and contributed to hantavirus evasion of IFN responses by inhibiting STAT1 phosphorylation. RNA-seq analysis revealed the upregulation of multiple cell death-related genes after HTNV Infection, with RIPK3 identified as a key modulator of viral replication. RIPK3 ablation significantly enhanced ISGs expression and restrained HTNV replication, without affecting the expression of Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) or the production of type I IFNs. Conversely, exogenously expressed RIPK3 compromised the host's Antiviral response and facilitated HTNV replication. RIPK3-/- mice also maintained a robust ability to clear HTNV with enhanced innate immune responses. Mechanistically, we found that RIPK3 could bind STAT1 and inhibit STAT1 phosphorylation dependent on the protein kinase domain (PKD) of RIPK3 but not its kinase activity. Overall, these observations demonstrated a noncanonical function of RIPK3 during viral Infection and have elucidated a novel host innate immunity evasion strategy utilized by HTNV.

Keywords

Hantaan virus (HTNV); IFN-stimulated genes; Innate immune response; RIPK3; STAT1; interferons.

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