Zhou Y, Li T, Zhang Y, Zhang N, Guo Y, Gao X, Peng. BAG6 inhibits influenza A virus replication by inducing viral polymerase subunit PB2 degradation and perturbing RdRp complex assembly. PLoS Pathog. 2024 Mar 18;20(3):e1012110
The interaction between influenza A virus (IAV) and host proteins is an important process that greatly influences viral replication and pathogenicity. PB2 protein is a subunit of viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complex playing distinct roles in viral transcription and replication. BAG6 (BCL2-associated athanogene 6) as a multifunctional host protein participates in physiological and pathological processes. Here, we identify BAG6 as a new restriction factor for IAV replication through targeting PB2. For both avian and human influenza viruses, overexpression of BAG6 reduced viral protein expression and virus titers, whereas deletion of BAG6 significantly enhanced virus replication. Moreover, BAG6-knockdown mice developed more severe clinical symptoms and higher viral loads upon IAV infection. Mechanistically, BAG6 restricted IAV transcription and replication by inhibiting the activity of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The co-Immunoprecipitation assays showed BAG6 specifically interacted with the N-terminus of PB2 and competed with PB1 for RdRp complex assembly. The ubiquitination assay indicated that BAG6 promoted PB2 ubiquitination at K189 residue and targeted PB2 for K48-linked ubiquitination degradation. The antiviral effect of BAG6 necessitated its N-terminal region containing a ubiquitin-like (UBL) domain (17-92aa) and a PB2-binding domain (124-186aa), which are synergistically responsible for viral polymerase subunit PB2 degradation and perturbing RdRp complex assembly. These findings unravel a novel antiviral mechanism via the interaction of viral PB2 and host protein BAG6 during avian or human influenza virus infection and highlight a potential application of BAG6 for antiviral drug development.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- High-throughput pseudovirus neutralisation maps the antigenic landscape of influenza A/H1N1 viruses 12 hours ago
- Timely vaccine strain selection and genomic surveillance improve evolutionary forecast accuracy of seasonal influenza A/H3N2 13 hours ago
- Evaluation of a Novel Data Source for National Influenza Surveillance: Influenza Hospitalization Data in the National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, September 2021-April 2024 13 hours ago
- Scenarios for pre-pandemic zoonotic influenza preparedness and response 13 hours ago
- Stability of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in Milk from Infected Cows and Virus-Spiked Milk 2 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


