An Unexpected Encounter: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Nonstructural Protein 1 Interacts with Mediator Subunit MED25
Tessa Van Royen, Koen Sedeyn, George D. Moschonas, Wendy Toussaint, Marnik Vuylsteke, Delphi Van Haver, Francis Impens, Sven Eyckerman, Irma Lemmens, Jan Tavernier, Bert Schepens, Xavier Saelens
Abstract
Innate immune responses, including the production of type I and III interferons, play a crucial role in the first line of defense against RSV infection. However, only a poor induction of type I IFNs is observed during RSV infection, suggesting that RSV has evolved mechanisms to prevent type I IFN expression by the infected host cell. A unique RSV protein, NS1, is largely responsible for this effect, probably through interaction with multiple host proteins. A better understanding of the interactions that occur between RSV NS1 and host proteins may help to identify targets for an effective antiviral therapy. We addressed this question by performing three complementary protein-protein interaction screens and identified MED25 as an RSV NS1-interacting protein. We propose a role in innate anti-RSV defense for this Mediator complex subunit.