Dual R108K and G189D Mutations in the NS1 Protein of A/H1N1 Influenza Virus Counteract Host Innate Immune Responses

Influenza A viruses (IAV) modulate host antiviral responses to promote growth and pathogenicity. Here, we examined the multifunctional IAV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of influenza A virus to better understand factors that contribute to viral replication efficiency or pathogenicity. In 2009, a pandemic H1N1 IAV (A/California/07/2009 pH1N1) emerged in the human population from swine. Seasonal variants of this virus are still circulating in humans. Here, we compared the sequence of a seasonal variant of this H1N1 influenza virus (A/Urumqi/XJ49/2018(H1N1), first isolated in 2018) with the pandemic strain A/California/07/2009. The 2018 virus harbored amino acid mutations (I123V and N205S) in important functional sites; however, 108R and 189G were highly conserved between A/California/07/2009 and the 2018 variant. To better understand interactions between influenza viruses and the human innate immune system, we generated and rescued seasonal 2009 H1N1 IAV mutants expressing an NS1 protein harboring a dual mutation (R108K/G189D) at these conserved residues and then analyzed its biological characteristics. We found that the mutated NS1 protein exhibited systematic and selective inhibition of cytokine responses via a mechanism that may not involve binding to cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor 30 (CPSF30). These results highlight the complexity underlying host-influenza NS1 protein interactions.

Automated summary

This study examined the role of the multifunctional NS1 protein of influenza A virus in modulating host antiviral responses and compared the sequence differences between a seasonal variant and the 2009 pandemic strain. A dual mutation in the NS1 protein was found to selectively inhibit cytokine responses via a mechanism that may not involve CPSF30 binding. This highlights the complexity of host-influenza NS1 protein interactions.