Enterovirus 71 Induces Mitophagy via PINK1/Parkin Signaling Pathway to Promote Viral Replication

ABSTRACT Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection poses a global public health challenge, especially in infants and young children, with severe cases leading to fatal consequences. EV71 infection modulates various biological processes of the host and evades host immunity through multiple mechanisms. The balance of mitochondrial dynamics is important for cellular homeostasis. However, the mechanisms underlying EV71‐induced cellular damage via mitophagy remain unclear. In the current study, we showed that EV71 infection significantly reduced the total and mitochondrial ATP contents in cells, as well as the expression of mitochondrial proteins TOM20 and TIM23. Then, EV71 infection increased the protein levels of PINK1, Parkin, and LC3B, suggesting that EV71 infection triggers the mitophagy. Silencing PINK1 caused a significant reduction in viral replication, while overexpressing Parkin promoted the replication of EV71. Moreover, CsA treatment, as a mitophagy inhibitor, alleviated pathological damage and suppressed the replication of EV71 in vivo. Mechanistic study showed that silencing PINK1 inhibited the cleavage of MAVS by EV71, while overexpressing Parkin enhanced the cleavage of MAVS by EV71, suggesting that PINK1‐mediated mitophagy was involved in regulating innate immunity. Furthermore, we found that EV71 infection promoted the release of mitochondria carrying EV71 virions into the extracellular environment, which mediated infection of other cells, thus facilitating virus spreading. In addition, we also demonstrated that the extracellular mitochondria induced the degradation of MAVS and mitophagy promoted the release of mitochondria in EV71‐infected HeLa cells. In conclusion, these findings suggest that EV71 infection induces PINK1‐mediated mitophagy, which inhibits innate immunity and facilitates virus replication.