Conservation of a unique mechanism of immune evasion across the Lyssavirus genus.

L. Wiltzer (1) , Florence Larrous (2, 3) , S Oksayan (1) , N Ito (4) , G A Marsh , L F Wang (5) , D Blondel (6) , Hervé Bourhy (7, 8) , D A Jans (1) , G W Moseley (1)

1 University of Melbourne
2 Cellule Pasteur
3 DyLAH - Dynamique des Lyssavirus et Adaptation à l'Hôte
4 Gifu University
5 Concordia University [Montreal]
6 VMS - Virologie moléculaire et structurale
7 CNR - Centre National de Référence de la Rage-Dynamique des Lyssavirus et adaptation à l'hôte
8 CC-OMS - Centre Collaborateur de l'OMS pour la Rage - Dynamique des lyssavirus et adaptation à l'hôte

The evasion of host innate immunity by Rabies virus, the prototype of the genus Lyssavirus, depends on a unique mechanism of selective targeting of interferon-activated STAT proteins by the viral phosphoprotein (P-protein). However, the immune evasion strategies of other lyssaviruses, including several lethal human pathogens, are unresolved. Here, we show that this mechanism is conserved between the most distantly related members of the genus, providing important insights into the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targeting of lyssaviruses.

Keywords: Signal Transduction/immunology; Sequence Homology; Amino Acid; Host-Pathogen Interactions/immunology; Humans; Immunity; Innate; Interferon Type I/metabolism; Lyssavirus/classification/*genetics/*immunology/pathogenicity; Molecular Sequence Data; Rabies virus/genetics/immunology/pathogenicity; Conserved Sequence; Animals; Amino Acid Sequence; Species Specificity; STAT Transcription Factors/immunology; Viral Proteins/genetics/immunology

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Virology

L. Wiltzer, Florence Larrous, S Oksayan, N Ito, G A Marsh, et al.. Conservation of a unique mechanism of immune evasion across the Lyssavirus genus.. Journal of Virology, 2012, 86 (18), pp.10194-9. ⟨10.1128/JVI.01249-12⟩. ⟨pasteur-01481638⟩