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Hartmann JA, Cardoso MR, Talarico MCR, Kenney DJ, Leone MR, Reese DC, Turcinovic J, O'Connell AK, Gertje HP, Marino C, Ojeda PE, De Paula EV, Orsi FA, Velloso LA, Cafiero TR, Connor JH, Ploss A, Hoelzemer A, Carrington M, Barczak AK, Crossland NA, Douam F, Boucau J, Garcia-Beltran WF. Evasion of NKG2D-mediated cytotoxic immunity by sarbecoviruses. Cell 2024; 187:2393-2410.e14. [PMID: 38653235 PMCID: PMC11088510 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses continue to threaten humanity, highlighting the need to characterize common mechanisms of viral immune evasion for pandemic preparedness. Cytotoxic lymphocytes are vital for antiviral immunity and express NKG2D, an activating receptor conserved among mammals that recognizes infection-induced stress ligands (e.g., MIC-A/B). We found that SARS-CoV-2 evades NKG2D recognition by surface downregulation of MIC-A/B via shedding, observed in human lung tissue and COVID-19 patient serum. Systematic testing of SARS-CoV-2 proteins revealed that ORF6, an accessory protein uniquely conserved among sarbecoviruses, was responsible for MIC-A/B downregulation via shedding. Further investigation demonstrated that natural killer (NK) cells efficiently killed SARS-CoV-2-infected cells and limited viral spread. However, inhibition of MIC-A/B shedding with a monoclonal antibody, 7C6, further enhanced NK-cell activity toward SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Our findings unveil a strategy employed by SARS-CoV-2 to evade cytotoxic immunity, identify the culprit immunevasin shared among sarbecoviruses, and suggest a potential novel antiviral immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan A Hartmann
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Devin J Kenney
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Chobanian and Avedisian Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Madison R Leone
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Dagny C Reese
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jacquelyn Turcinovic
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aoife K O'Connell
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hans P Gertje
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Caitlin Marino
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Pedro E Ojeda
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Erich V De Paula
- School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Hematology and Hemotherapy Center, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Fernanda A Orsi
- School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Hematology and Hemotherapy Center, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Licio Augusto Velloso
- School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil; Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil
| | - Thomas R Cafiero
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - John H Connor
- National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexander Ploss
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Angelique Hoelzemer
- First Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; Institute for Infection and Vaccine Development (IIRVD), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; Research Department Virus Immunology, Leibniz Institute for Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mary Carrington
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Basic Science Program, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD, USA; Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Amy K Barczak
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas A Crossland
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Chobanian and Avedisian Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Florian Douam
- Department of Virology, Immunology, and Microbiology, Chobanian and Avedisian Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julie Boucau
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Wilfredo F Garcia-Beltran
- Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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