A conserved methyltransferase active site residue of Zika virus NS5 is required for the restriction of STING activation and interferon expression

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a re-emerging RNA virus and causes major public health events due to its link to severe neurological complications in foetuses and neonates. The cGAS-STING signalling pathway regulates innate immunity and plays an important role in the invasion of DNA and RNA viruses. This study reveals a distinct mechanism by which ZIKV restricts the cGAS-STING signalling to repress IFN-β expression. ZIKV attenuates IFN-β expression induced by DNA viruses (herpes simplex virus type 1, HSV-1) or two double-stranded DNAs (dsDNA90 and HSV120) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Notably, ZIKV NS5, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, was responsible for the repression of IFN-β. NS5 interacts with STING in the cytoplasm, suppresses IRF3 phosphorylation and nucleus localization and promotes the cleavage of STING K48-linked polyubiquitination. Furthermore, the NS5 methyltransferase (MTase) domain interacts with STING to restrict STING-induced IFN-β expression. Interestingly, point mutation analyses of conserved methyltransferase active site residue D146 indicate that it is critical for repressing IFN-β expression induced by STING stimulation in cGAS-STING signalling.