Exonuclease domain of the Lassa virus nucleoprotein is critical to avoid RIG-I signaling and to inhibit the innate immune response

Stéphanie Reynard (1) , Marion Russier (1) , Alexandra Fizet (1) , Xavier Carnec (1) , Sylvain Baize (1)

1 UBIVE - Biologie des Infections Virales Émergentes - Biology of Emerging Viral Infections

Lassa virus (LASV), which causes a viral hemorrhagic fever, inhibits the innate immune response. The exonuclease (ExoN) domain of its nucleoprotein (NP) is implicated in the suppression of retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) signaling. We show here that a LASV in which ExoN function has been abolished strongly activates innate immunity and that this effect is dependent on RIG-I signaling. These results highlight the key role of NP ExoN function in the immune evasion that occurs during LASV infection.

Mots clés: Cells; Humans; Lassa virus; DEAD Box Protein 58; DEAD-box RNA Helicases; Cultured; Exonucleases; Innate; Immunity; Nucleoproteins; Immune Tolerance; Signal Transduction

Domaines: Immunologie; Bactériologie; Virologie

Stéphanie Reynard, Marion Russier, Alexandra Fizet, Xavier Carnec, Sylvain Baize. Exonuclease domain of the Lassa virus nucleoprotein is critical to avoid RIG-I signaling and to inhibit the innate immune response. Journal of Virology, 2014, 88 (23), pp.13923-13927. ⟨10.1128/JVI.01923-14⟩. ⟨hal-01911066⟩