LONG JC, Fodor E. The PB2 subunit of the influenza A virus RNA polymerase is imported into the mitochondrial matrix. J Virol. 2016 Jul 20
The PB2 subunit of the RNA polymerase complex of seasonal human influenza A viruses has been shown to localise to the mitochondria. Various roles including the regulation of apoptosis and innate immune responses to viral infection have been proposed for mitochondrial PB2. In particular, PB2 has been shown to inhibit interferon expression by associating with the mitochondrial antiviral signalling (MAVS) protein, which acts downstream of RIG-I and MDA-5 in the interferon induction pathway. However, in spite of a growing body of literature on the potential roles of mitochondrial PB2, the exact location of PB2 in mitochondria has not been determined. Here, we use Enhanced Ascorbate Peroxidase (APEX) tagged PB2 proteins and electron microscopy to study the localisation of PB2 in mitochondria. We find that PB2 is imported into mitochondria where it localises to the mitochondrial matrix. We also demonstrate that MAVS is not required for the import of PB2 into mitochondria by showing that PB2 associates with mitochondria in MAVS knockout mouse embryo fibroblasts. Instead, we find that amino acid residue 9 in the N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence is a determinant of the mitochondrial import of PB2, differentiating the localisation of PB2 of human from that of avian influenza A virus strains. We also show that a virus encoding non-mitochondrial PB2 is attenuated in MEFs compared with an isogenic virus encoding mitochondrial PB2, in a MAVS-independent manner, suggesting a role for PB2 within the mitochondrial matrix. This work extends our understanding of the interplay between influenza virus and mitochondria.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Deep learning predicts potential reassortments of avian H5N1 with human influenza viruses 1 hours ago
- Cats are more susceptible to the prevalent H3 subtype influenza viruses than dogs 1 hours ago
- Overview of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in wildlife from Central and South America, October 2022-September 2025 1 hours ago
- Phylogenetic Analysis of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H7 Viruses in Australia and New Zealand Suggests Local Viral Evolution 23 hours ago
- AI-Powered Identification of Human Cell Surface Protein Interactors of the Hemagglutinin Glycoprotein of High-Pandemic-Risk H5N1 Influenza Virus 23 hours ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


