PRJNA473850
ER proteostasis and temperature differentially impact the mutational tolerance of influenza hemagglutinin
Here, we present a systematic and quantitative test of the hypothesis that the composition and activities of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis network impact mutational tolerance of secretory pathway client proteins. We focus on influenza hemagluttinin (HA), a viral coat protein that folds in the host's ER via a complex but well-characterized pathway. By integrating chemical methods to modulate the unfolded protein response with deep mutational scanning to assess mutational tolerance, we discover that upregulation of ER chaperones broadly enhances HA mutational tolerance across numerous sites and secondary/tertiary structure elements, including sites targeted by host antibodies. Remarkably, this host chaperone-enhanced mutational tolerance is observed at the same HA sites where mutational tolerance is most reduced by propagation at a fever-like temperature. Thus, host ER proteostasis mechanisms and temperature modulate HA mutational tolerance in opposite directions. This finding has important implications for influenza evolution, because influenza immune escape is contingent on HA possessing sufficient mutational tolerance to acquire antibody resistance while still maintaining the capacity to fold and function. More broadly, this work provides the first experimental evidence that the composition and activities of the ER proteostasis network critically define the mutational tolerance and, therefore, the evolution of secretory pathway client proteins.