The influenza NS1 protein modulates RIG-I activation via a strain-specific direct interaction with the second CARD of RIG-I

Abstract

A critical role of the influenza A virus non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is to antagonize the host cellular antiviral response. NS1 accomplishes this role through numerous interactions with host proteins including the cytoplasmic pathogen-recognition receptor, retinoic acid inducible gene I (RIG-I). Although the consequences of this interaction have been studied, the complete mechanism by which NS1 antagonizes RIG-I signaling remains unclear. We previously demonstrated that the NS1 RNA binding domain (NS1^RBD) interacts directly with the second caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD) of RIG-I. We also identified that a single strain-specific polymorphism in the NS1^RBD (R21Q) completely abrogates this interaction. Here we investigate the functional consequences of an R21Q mutation on NS1’s ability to antagonize RIG-I signaling. We observed that an influenza virus harboring the R21Q mutation in NS1 results in significant upregulation of RIG-I signaling. In support of this, we determined that an R21Q mutation in NS1 results in a marked deficit in NS1’s ability to antagonize TRIM25-mediated ubiquitination of the RIG-I CARDs, a critical step in RIG-I activation. We also observed that wild-type NS1 is capable of binding directly to the tandem RIG-I CARDs while the R21Q mutation in NS1 significantly inhibits this interaction. Furthermore, we determined that the R21Q mutation does not impede the interaction between NS1 and TRIM25 nor the NS1^RBD’s ability to bind RNA. The data presented here offer significant insights into NS1’s antagonism of RIG-I and illustrate the importance of understanding the role of strain-specific polymorphisms in the context of this specific NS1 function.