Human MARCH1, 2, and 8 Block Ebola Virus Envelope Glycoprotein Cleavage
via Targeting Furin P Domain
Abstract
Membrane-Associated Ring-CH (MARCH) family proteins were recently
reported to inhibit viral replication through multiple modes of action.
Previous work proved that human MARCH8 blocked Ebola virus (EBOV)
glycoprotein (GP) maturation. Our study here demonstrates that human
MARCH1 and MARCH2 share a similar pattern to MARCH8 in restricting EBOV
GP-mediated viral replication. Human MARCH1 and MARCH2 retain EBOV GP in
the trans-Golgi network (TGN), reduce its surface display, and impair
EBOV GP-pseudotyped virions infectivity. Furthermore, we uncover that
the host proprotein convertase (PC) furin could interact with human
MARCH1/2 and EBOV GP intracellularly. Importantly, the furin P domain is
confirmed to be recognized by MARCH1/2/8, which is critical for their
blocking activities. Besides, bovine MARCH2 and murine MARCH1 also
impair EBOV GP proteolytic processing. Altogether, our findings confirm
that MARCH1/2 proteins of different species showed a relatively
conserved feature in blocking EBOV GP proteolytic processing, which
could provide a reference for subsequent antiviral studies and may
facilitate the development of novel strategies to antagonize enveloped
virus infection.