[HTML][HTML] Dengue virus induces PCSK9 expression to alter antiviral responses and disease outcomes

ES Gan, HC Tan, DHT Le, TT Huynh… - The Journal of …, 2020 - Am Soc Clin Investig
ES Gan, HC Tan, DHT Le, TT Huynh, B Wills, NG Seidah, EE Ooi, S Yacoub
The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2020Am Soc Clin Investig
Dengue virus (DENV) infection requires cholesterol as a proviral factor, although statin
treatment did not show antiviral efficacy in patients with dengue. Here, we show that DENV
infection manipulated cholesterol metabolism in cells residing in low-oxygen
microenvironments (hypoxia) such as in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. DENV infection
induced expression of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which reduces
low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) recycling and hence cholesterol uptake. We found …
Dengue virus (DENV) infection requires cholesterol as a proviral factor, although statin treatment did not show antiviral efficacy in patients with dengue. Here, we show that DENV infection manipulated cholesterol metabolism in cells residing in low-oxygen microenvironments (hypoxia) such as in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. DENV infection induced expression of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), which reduces low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) recycling and hence cholesterol uptake. We found that, whereas LDLR uptake would have distributed cholesterol throughout the various cell compartments, de novo cholesterol synthesis enriched this lipid in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). With cholesterol enrichment in the ER, ER-resident STING and type I IFN (IFN) activation was repressed during DENV infection. Our in vitro findings were further supported by the detection of elevated plasma PCSK9 levels in patients with dengue with high viremia and increased severity of plasma leakage. Our findings therefore suggest that PCSK9 plays a hitherto unrecognized role in dengue pathogenesis and that PCSK9 inhibitors could be a suitable host-directed treatment for patients with dengue.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation