<p>The innate immune sensor PKR for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is critical for antiviral defense, but its aberrant activation by cellular dsRNA is linked to various diseases. The dsRNA-binding protein PACT plays a critical yet controversial role in this pathway. We show that PACT directly suppresses PKR activation by endogenous dsRNA ligands, such as inverted-repeat Alu RNAs, which robustly activate PKR in the absence of PACT. Instead of competing for dsRNA binding, PACT prevents PKR from scanning along dsRNA—a necessary step for PKR molecules to encounter and phosphorylate each other for activation. While PKR favors longer dsRNA for increased co-occupancy and scanning-mediated activation, longer dsRNA is also more susceptible to PACT-mediated regulation due to increased PACT-PKR co-occupancy. Unlike viral inhibitors that constitutively suppress PKR, this RNA-dependent mechanism allows PACT to fine-tune PKR activation based on dsRNA length and quantity, ensuring self-tolerance without sequestering most cellular dsRNA.</p>

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

PACT prevents aberrant activation of PKR by endogenous dsRNA without sequestration

  • Sadeem Ahmad,
  • Tao Zou,
  • Jihee Hwang,
  • Linlin Zhao,
  • Xi Wang,
  • Anton Davydenko,
  • Ilana Buchumenski,
  • Patrick Zhuang,
  • Alyssa R. Fishbein,
  • Diego Capcha-Rodriguez,
  • Aaron Orgel,
  • Erez Y. Levanon,
  • Sua Myong,
  • James Chou,
  • Matthew Meyerson,
  • Sun Hur

摘要

The innate immune sensor PKR for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is critical for antiviral defense, but its aberrant activation by cellular dsRNA is linked to various diseases. The dsRNA-binding protein PACT plays a critical yet controversial role in this pathway. We show that PACT directly suppresses PKR activation by endogenous dsRNA ligands, such as inverted-repeat Alu RNAs, which robustly activate PKR in the absence of PACT. Instead of competing for dsRNA binding, PACT prevents PKR from scanning along dsRNA—a necessary step for PKR molecules to encounter and phosphorylate each other for activation. While PKR favors longer dsRNA for increased co-occupancy and scanning-mediated activation, longer dsRNA is also more susceptible to PACT-mediated regulation due to increased PACT-PKR co-occupancy. Unlike viral inhibitors that constitutively suppress PKR, this RNA-dependent mechanism allows PACT to fine-tune PKR activation based on dsRNA length and quantity, ensuring self-tolerance without sequestering most cellular dsRNA.