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Site Specific Lysine Acetylation of Histones for Nucleosome Reconstitution using Genetic Code Expansion in Escherichia coli
Published on: December 26, 2020
Akt Kinase-Mediated Checkpoint of cGAS DNA Sensing Pathway
Gil Ju Seo1, Aerin Yang2, Brandon Tan1
1Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Abstract:
Upon DNA stimulation, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) synthesizes the second messenger cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) that binds to the STING, triggering antiviral interferon-β (IFN-β) production. However, it has remained undetermined how hosts regulate cGAS enzymatic activity after the resolution of DNA immunogen. Here, we show that Akt kinase plays a negative role in cGAS-mediated anti-viral immune response. Akt phosphorylated the S291 or S305 residue of the enzymatic domain of mouse or human cGAS, respectively, and this phosphorylation robustly suppressed its enzymatic activity. Consequently, expression of activated Akt led to the reduction of cGAMP and IFN-β production and the increase of herpes simplex virus 1 replication, whereas treatment with Akt inhibitor augmented cGAS-mediated IFN-β production. Furthermore, expression of the phosphorylation-resistant cGAS S291A mutant enhanced IFN-β production upon DNA stimulation, HSV-1 infection, and vaccinia virus infection. Our study identifies an Akt kinase-mediated checkpoint to fine-tune hosts' immune responses to DNA stimulation.
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