title: Hepatitis B virus polymerase disrupts K63-linked ubiquitination of STING to block innate cytosolic DNA-sensing pathways.
abstract: The cellular innate immune system recognizing pathogen infection is essential for host defense against viruses. In parallel, viruses have developed a variety of strategies to evade the innate immunity. The hepatitis B virus (HBV), a DNA virus that causes chronic hepatitis, has been shown to inhibit RNA helicase RIG-I-mediated interferon (IFN) induction. However, it is still unknown whether HBV could affect the host DNA-sensing pathways. Here we report that in transiently HBV-transfected Huh7 cells, the stably HBV-producing cell line HepAD38, and HBV-infected HepaRG cells and primary human hepatocytes, HBV markedly interfered with IFN-β induction and antiviral immunity mediated by the stimulator of interferon genes (STING), which has been identified as a central factor in foreign DNA recognition and antiviral innate immunity. Screening analysis demonstrated that the viral polymerase (Pol), but not other HBV-encoded proteins, was able to inhibit STING-stimulated interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) activation and IFN-β induction. Moreover, the reverse transcriptase (RT) and the RNase H (RH) domains of Pol were identified to be responsible for the inhibitory effects. Furthermore, Pol was shown to physically associate with STING and dramatically decrease the K63-linked polyubiquitination of STING via its RT domain without altering the expression level of STING. Taken together, these observations suggest that besides its inherent catalytic function, Pol has a role in suppression of IFN-β production by direct interaction with STING and subsequent disruption of its K63-linked ubiquitination, providing a new mechanism for HBV to counteract the innate DNA-sensing pathways.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Although whether and how HBV infection induces the innate immune responses are still controversial, it has become increasingly clear that HBV has developed strategies to counteract the pattern recognition receptor-mediated signaling pathways. Previous studies have shown that type I IFN induction activated by the host RNA sensors could be inhibited by HBV. However, it remains unknown whether HBV as a DNA virus utilizes evasion mechanisms against foreign DNA-elicited antiviral signaling. In recent years, the cytosolic DNA sensor and key adaptor STING has been demonstrated to be essential in multiple foreign DNA-elicited innate immune signalings. Here, for the first time, we report STING as a new target of HBV to antagonize IFN induction and identify the viral polymerase responsible for the inhibitory effect, thus providing an additional molecular mechanism by which HBV evades the innate immunity; this implies that in addition to its inherent catalytic function, HBV polymerase is a multifunctional immunomodulatory protein.
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yinghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jieliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yaming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Weixia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaoting
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wuhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China zhyuan@shaphc.org.
authors.forename: Zhenghong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yuan
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D054875:Ubiquitination; D000099197:STING Protein
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D016899:Interferon-beta; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C532857:STING1 protein, human; D000099197:STING Protein