Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation

Various lipid metabolism-related factors are essential for Zika virus (ZIKV) replication. In this study, we revealed a crucial role of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) in ZIKV replication using a short hairpin RNA-based gene knockdown technique. The replication of ZIKV was significantly in...

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Main Authors: Xiaotong Luo, Yunxiang Yuan, Xiaocao Ma, Xin Luo, Jiannan Chen, Cancan Chen, Xiaoyi Yang, Jinna Yang, Xuanfeng Zhu, Meiyu Li, Yang Liu, Ping Zhang, Chao Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2024-01-01
Series:Research
Online Access:https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0511
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author Xiaotong Luo
Yunxiang Yuan
Xiaocao Ma
Xin Luo
Jiannan Chen
Cancan Chen
Xiaoyi Yang
Jinna Yang
Xuanfeng Zhu
Meiyu Li
Yang Liu
Ping Zhang
Chao Liu
author_facet Xiaotong Luo
Yunxiang Yuan
Xiaocao Ma
Xin Luo
Jiannan Chen
Cancan Chen
Xiaoyi Yang
Jinna Yang
Xuanfeng Zhu
Meiyu Li
Yang Liu
Ping Zhang
Chao Liu
author_sort Xiaotong Luo
collection DOAJ
description Various lipid metabolism-related factors are essential for Zika virus (ZIKV) replication. In this study, we revealed a crucial role of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) in ZIKV replication using a short hairpin RNA-based gene knockdown technique. The replication of ZIKV was significantly inhibited by DGAT2 depletion in multiple cell lines and restored by trans-complementation with DGAT2. Mechanistically, DGAT2 is recruited in the viral replication complex by interacting with non-structural (NS) proteins. Among them, both human and murine DGAT2s can be cleaved by NS2B3 at the 122R-R-S124 site. Interestingly, the cleavage product of DGAT2 becomes more stable and is sufficient to promote the lipid droplet (LD) formation independent of its enzymatic activity. This work identifies DGAT2 as a novel target of the viral protease NS2B3 and elucidates that DGAT2 is recruited by viral proteins into the replication complex, thereby playing a proviral role by promoting LD formation, which advances our understanding of host–flavivirus interaction.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
issn 2639-5274
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-a2ecdfeda18b4c15848fcf1cec16e4862025-08-20T02:11:30ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Research2639-52742024-01-01710.34133/research.0511Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet FormationXiaotong Luo0Yunxiang Yuan1Xiaocao Ma2Xin Luo3Jiannan Chen4Cancan Chen5Xiaoyi Yang6Jinna Yang7Xuanfeng Zhu8Meiyu Li9Yang Liu10Ping Zhang11Chao Liu12Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Key Laboratory of Tropical Diseases Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.Various lipid metabolism-related factors are essential for Zika virus (ZIKV) replication. In this study, we revealed a crucial role of diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2) in ZIKV replication using a short hairpin RNA-based gene knockdown technique. The replication of ZIKV was significantly inhibited by DGAT2 depletion in multiple cell lines and restored by trans-complementation with DGAT2. Mechanistically, DGAT2 is recruited in the viral replication complex by interacting with non-structural (NS) proteins. Among them, both human and murine DGAT2s can be cleaved by NS2B3 at the 122R-R-S124 site. Interestingly, the cleavage product of DGAT2 becomes more stable and is sufficient to promote the lipid droplet (LD) formation independent of its enzymatic activity. This work identifies DGAT2 as a novel target of the viral protease NS2B3 and elucidates that DGAT2 is recruited by viral proteins into the replication complex, thereby playing a proviral role by promoting LD formation, which advances our understanding of host–flavivirus interaction.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0511
spellingShingle Xiaotong Luo
Yunxiang Yuan
Xiaocao Ma
Xin Luo
Jiannan Chen
Cancan Chen
Xiaoyi Yang
Jinna Yang
Xuanfeng Zhu
Meiyu Li
Yang Liu
Ping Zhang
Chao Liu
Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
Research
title Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
title_full Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
title_fullStr Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
title_full_unstemmed Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
title_short Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase 2, a Novel Target of Flavivirus NS2B3 Protease, Promotes Zika Virus Replication by Regulating Lipid Droplet Formation
title_sort diacylglycerol o acyltransferase 2 a novel target of flavivirus ns2b3 protease promotes zika virus replication by regulating lipid droplet formation
url https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/research.0511
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