J Virol. 2020 Sep 23. pii: JVI.01229-20. [Epub ahead of print]
Yanxia Huang,
Quanshi Lin,
Zhiting Huo,
Cancan Chen,
Shili Zhou,
Xiaocao Ma,
Huixin Gao,
Yuxia Lin,
Xiaobo Li,
Junfang He,
Ping Zhang,
Chao Liu.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus, which has become a global epidemic threat due to its rapid spread and association with serious consequences of infection including neonatal microcephaly. Inositol requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related transmembrane protein that mediates unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway and has been indicated to play an important role in flavivirus replication. However, the mechanism of how IRE1α affects ZIKV replication remains unknown. Here, we explored the role of IRE1α in ZIKV infection in vitro and in vivo by using CRISPR/Cas9-based gene knockout and RNA interference-based gene knockdown techniques. Both knockout and knockdown of IRE1α dramatically reduced ZIKV replication levels, including viral RNA levels, protein expression, and titers in different human cell lines. Trans-complementation with IRE1α restored viral replication levels decreased by IRE1α depletion. Furthermore, the proviral effect of IRE1α was dependent on its kinase and ribonuclease activities. Importantly, we found that IRE1α promoted the replication of ZIKV through up-regulating the accumulation of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) rate-limiting enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), which further affected the production of oleic acid and lipid droplet. Finally, our data demonstrated that in the brain tissues of ZIKV-infected mice, the replication levels of ZIKV and viral related lesions were significantly suppressed by both the kinase and RNase inhibitors of IRE1α. Taken together, our work identified IRE1α as a ZIKV-dependency factor, which promotes viral replication through affecting SCD1 mediated lipid metabolism, potentially providing a novel molecular target for the development of anti-ZIKV agents.Importance Zika virus (ZIKV) has been linked to serious neurologic disorders and causes widespread concern in the field of global public health. Inositol requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is an ER-related transmembrane protein that mediates unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. Here, we revealed that IRE1α is a proviral factor for ZIKV replication both in culture cells and mice model, which relies on its kinase and RNase activities. Importantly, we further provided evidence that upon ZIKV infection, IRE1α is activated and splices XBP1 mRNA which enhances the expression of monounsaturated fatty acids rate-limiting enzyme stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) and subsequent lipid droplet production. Our data uncover a novel mechanism of IRE1α proviral effect by modulating lipid metabolism, providing the first evidence of a close relationship between IRE1α-mediated UPR, lipid metabolism, and ZIKV replication, and indicating IRE1α inhibitors as potentially effective anti-ZIKV agents.