Membrane rearrangement by positive-sense RNA viruses: Molecular mechanisms and cellular responses

脂膜介导细胞内的区域化，在细胞器结构和生理中起着关键作用。大约三分之一的蛋白质是膜包埋的，它们的活性受脂膜的物理化学性质的调节。因此，细胞的结构和功能依赖于膜生理学和动态平衡的适当调节，但其潜在的机制却知之甚少。长期以来，病毒一直被认为是剖析基本细胞生物学的优秀工具。正义RNA病毒(或()单链RNA病毒)是一大群广泛改变宿主细胞膜的病毒。我们使用()单链RNA病毒作为工具来了解调节脂膜重塑和动态平衡的基本机制，这对维持正常的细胞功能至关重要。 我们研究的一个主题是了解()ssRNA病毒如何利用宿主因素和细胞机制来重排细胞膜。以丙型肝炎病毒(丙型肝炎病毒)作为单链RNA病毒模型，我们发现宿主蛋白亲环素A(CypA)在丙型肝炎病毒诱导的细胞内膜重排中起关键作用。我们现在试图定义CypA是如何调节膜重排的。CypA与丙型肝炎病毒蛋白NS5A相互作用，NS5A在膜重排中起核心作用。我们假设CypA-NS5A相互作用调节脂质运输以驱动细胞内膜重塑。 为了维持细胞的功能，细胞膜的扰动必须被细胞“缓冲”。我们研究的第二个主题是表征细胞如何对膜重排做出反应。我们假设细胞感觉到膜的扰动(如由单链RNA病毒诱导的)作为应激信号，并激活细胞反应，恢复膜的动态平衡。我们最近的发现表明，CypA在调节蛋白激酶R(PKR)依赖的应激反应中发挥作用。值得注意的是，抑制CypA似乎激活了一种依赖PKR的抗病毒程序，该程序对()ssRNA病毒(即，重排细胞膜的病毒)特别有效。我们现在将确定CypA如何调节影响膜重排的PKR依赖的反应。此外，我们还将探讨其他应激相关蛋白在感受细胞膜扰动中的作用。 意义：我们预计，我们的发现将为调节脂膜动态平衡和细胞内膜重塑的机制提供新的理解。通过加深对这些基本细胞过程的理解，我们预计我们的发现将对研究细胞生物学的许多方面具有重要意义，从脂质代谢到膜蛋白再到细胞内在的抗病毒反应。更广泛地说，我们的工作将使加拿大受益，因为我们将培训几名HQP掌握最先进的细胞和分子生物学技术，为我们未来的科学领导者提供在自然科学事业中脱颖而出所需的专业知识。

Lipid membranes mediate intracellular compartmentalization and play a key role in organelle architecture and physiology. Approximately one third of proteins are membrane-embedded, and their activities are regulated by the physiochemical properties of the lipid membrane. Cellular structure and function therefore depend on proper regulation of membrane physiology and homeostasis, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Viruses have long been considered excellent tools to dissect fundamental cellular biology. Positive-sense RNA viruses (or (+)ssRNA viruses) are a large group of viruses that extensively remodel host intracellular membranes. We use (+)ssRNA viruses as tools to understand fundamental mechanisms regulating lipid membrane remodeling and homeostasis, which are crucial for the maintenance of normal cellular function. One theme of our research is to understand how (+)ssRNA viruses co-opt host factors and cellular mechanisms to rearrange membranes. Using hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a model (+)ssRNA virus, we identified the host protein cyclophilin A (CypA) as a key player in HCV-induced intracellular membrane rearrangement. We now seek to define how CypA regulates membrane rearrangements. CypA interacts with the HCV protein NS5A, which has a central role in membrane rearrangement. We hypothesize that the CypA-NS5A interaction regulates lipid trafficking to drive intracellular membrane remodelling. In order to maintain cellular functionality, membrane perturbation must be “buffered” by the cell. A second theme of our research is to characterize how cells respond to membrane rearrangements. We hypothesize that cells sense membrane perturbation (such as that induced by (+)ssRNA viruses) as a stress signal and activate cellular responses that restore membrane homeostasis. Our recent findings suggest a role for CypA in regulating protein kinase R (PKR)-dependent stress responses. Strikingly, CypA inhibition appears to activate a PKR-dependent antiviral program that is particularly potent against (+)ssRNA viruses (i.e., viruses that rearrange membranes). We will now determine how CypA regulates PKR-dependent responses that impact membrane rearrangement. Furthermore, we will probe the role of other stress-related proteins in sensing intracellular membrane perturbation. Significance: We anticipate that our findings will provide new understanding of the mechanisms regulating lipid membrane homeostasis and remodelling of intracellular membranes. By advancing our understanding of these fundamental cellular processes, we expect our findings will be important for researchers studying many aspects of cell biology, ranging from lipid metabolism to membrane proteins to cell intrinsic antiviral responses. More broadly, our work will benefit Canada by training several HQP in state-of-the-art techniques in cellular and molecular biology, providing our future scientific leaders with the required expertise to excel in natural science careers.