title: Modulation of the unfolded protein response by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike protein.
abstract: Perturbation of the function of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) causes stress leading to the activation of cell signaling pathways known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) uses ER as a site for synthesis and processing of viral proteins. In this report, we demonstrate that infection with SARS-CoV induces the UPR in cultured cells. A comparison with M, E, and NSP6 proteins indicates that SARS-CoV spike (S) protein sufficiently induces transcriptional activation of several UPR effectors, including glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), GRP94, and C/EBP homologous protein. A substantial amount of S protein accumulates in the ER. The expression of S protein exerts different effects on the three major signaling pathways of the UPR. Particularly, it induces GRP78/94 through PKR-like ER kinase but has no influence on activating transcription factor 6 or X box-binding protein 1. Taken together, our findings suggest that SARS-CoV S protein specifically modulates the UPR to facilitate viral replication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, 3/F Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ching-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Kam-Leung
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.forename: King-Tung
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Kwok-Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: Bojian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Dong-Yan
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000378:metabolism; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; C000717247:HSPA5 protein, human; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; C000717248:Hspa5 protein, mouse; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D064370:Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C018551:glucose-regulated proteins; C578557:spike glycoprotein, SARS-CoV; C578553:spike protein, mouse hepatitis virus