Liang J

Angiomotin Counteracts the Negative Regulatory Effect of Host WWOX on Viral PPxY-Mediated Egress

Filoviruses (Ebola [EBOV] and Marburg [MARV]) and arenavirus (Lassa virus; LASV) are zoonotic, emerging pathogens that cause outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. A fundamental understanding of the virus-host interface is critical for understanding the biology of these viruses and for developing future strategies for therapeutic intervention. Here, we identified host WW-domain containing protein WWOX as a novel interactor with VP40 and Z, and showed that WWOX inhibited budding of VP40/Z virus-like particles (VLPs) and live virus in a PPxY/WW-domain dependent manner. Our findings are important to the field as they expand the repertoire of host interactors found to regulate PPxY-mediated budding of RNA viruses, and further highlight the competitive interplay and modular virus-host interactions that impact both the virus lifecycle and the host cell.