HERP Binds TBK1 To Activate Innate Immunity and Repress Virus Replication in Response to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Host innate immunity is crucial for cellular responses against viral infection sensed by distinct pattern recognition receptors and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease and neurological diseases. However, the exact mechanism underlying the link between ER stress induced by EV71 infection and host innate immunity is largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that EV71 infection induces the homocysteine-induced ER protein (HERP), a modulator of the ER stress response which is dependent on the participation of MAVS. Virus-induced HERP subsequently stimulates host innate immunity to repress viral replication by promoting type-I IFNs (IFN-α and IFN-β) and type-III IFN (IFN-λ1) expression. Through interacting with TANK-binding kinase 1, HERP amplifies the MAVS signaling and facilitates the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of IFN regulatory factor 3 and NF-κB to enhance the expression of IFNs, which leads to a broad inhibition of the replication of RNA viruses, including EV71, Sendai virus, influenza A virus, and vesicular stomatitis virus. Therefore, we demonstrated that HERP plays an important role in the regulation of host innate immunity in response to ER stress during the infection of RNA viruses. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism underlying the replication of RNA viruses and the production of IFNs, and also demonstrate a new role of HERP in the regulation of host innate immunity in response to viral infection.