Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 4a Protein Is a Double-Stranded RNA-Binding Protein That Suppresses PACT-Induced Activation of RIG-I and MDA5 in the Innate Antiviral Response

Abstract

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging and highly lethal human pathogen. Why MERS-CoV causes severe disease in human is unclear, and one possibility is that MERS-CoV is particularly efficient in counteracting host immunity, including the sensing of virus invasion. It will therefore be critical to clarify how MERS-CoV cripples the host proteins that sense viruses and to compare MERS-CoV with its ancestral viruses in bats in the counteraction of virus sensing. This work not only provides a new understanding of the abilities of MERS-CoV and closely related bat viruses to subvert virus sensing but also might prove useful in revealing new strategies for the development of vaccines and antivirals.