Caspase-mediated regulation and cellular heterogeneity of the cGAS/STING pathway in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection

Abstract

As a result of the ongoing virus-host arms race, viruses have evolved numerous immune subversion strategies, many of which are aimed at suppressing the production of type I interferons (IFNs). Apoptotic caspases have recently emerged as important regulators of type I IFN signaling in both non-infectious contexts and during viral infection. Despite being widely considered anti-viral factors since they can trigger cell death, several apoptotic caspases promote viral replication by suppressing innate immune response. Indeed, we previously discovered that the AIDS-associated oncogenic gammaherpesvirus Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) exploits caspase activity to suppress the antiviral type I IFN response and promote viral replication. However, the mechanism of this novel viral immune evasion strategy is poorly understood, particularly how caspases antagonize IFN signaling during KSHV infection. Here we show that caspase activity inhibits the DNA sensor cGAS during KSHV lytic replication to block type I IFN induction. Furthermore, we use single-cell RNA-sequencing to reveal that the potent antiviral state conferred by caspase inhibition is mediated by an exceptionally small percentage of IFN-{beta}-producing cells, thus uncovering further complexity of IFN regulation during viral infection. Collectively, these results provide insight into multiple levels of cellular type I IFN regulation that viruses co-opt for immune evasion. Unraveling these mechanisms can inform targeted therapeutic strategies for viral infections and reveal cellular mechanisms of regulating interferon signaling in the context of cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. ImportanceType I interferons are key factors that dictate the outcome of infectious and inflammatory diseases. Thus, intricate cellular regulatory mechanisms are in place to control IFN responses. While viruses encode their own immune-regulatory proteins, they can also usurp existing cellular interferon regulatory functions. We found that caspase activity during lytic infection with the AIDS-associated oncogenic gammaherpesvirus Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus inhibits the DNA sensor cGAS to block the antiviral type I IFN response. Moreover, single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses unexpectedly revealed that an exceptionally small subset of infected cells (<5%) produce IFN, yet this is sufficient to confer a potent antiviral state. These findings reveal new aspects of type I IFN regulation and highlight caspases as a druggable target to modulate cGAS activity.