Human Cytomegalovirus UL138 Protein Inhibits the STING Pathway and Reduces Interferon Beta mRNA Accumulation during Lytic and Latent Infections

• DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02267-21
• Publication Date: 2021-12-14T09:31:24Z
• Authors: Emily R. Albright; Clayton K. Mickelson; Robert F. Kalejta
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Cytomegalovirus; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Microbiology; 03 medical and health sciences; Humans; RNA, Messenger; innate immunity; HCMV; latency; herpes; persistent; NF-kappa B; Membrane Proteins; productive; Interferon-beta; QR1-502; Immunity, Innate; Virus Latency; 3. Good health; Cytomegalovirus Infections; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Latent Infection; Interferon Regulatory Factor-3; Research Article; Signal Transduction

While a cellular restriction versus viral countermeasure arms race between innate immunity and viral latency is expected, few examples have been documented. Our identification of the first HCMV latency protein that inactivates the cGAS/STING/TBK1 innate immune pathway opens the door to understanding how innate immunity, or its neutralization, impacts long-term persistence by HCMV and other latent viruses.