Viral infection activates transcription factors NF-kappaB and IRF3, which collaborate to induce type I interferons (IFNs) and elicit innate antiviral response. MITA (also known as STING) has recently been identified as an adaptor that links virus-sensing receptors to IRF3 activation. Here, we showed that the E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF5 interacted with MITA in a viral-infection-dependent manner. Overexpression of RNF5 inhibited virus-triggered IRF3 activation, IFNB1 expression, and cellular antiviral response, whereas knockdown of RNF5 had opposite effects. RNF5 targeted MITA at Lys150 for ubiquitination and degradation after viral infection. Both MITA and RNF5 were located at the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and viral infection caused their redistribution to the ER and mitochondria, respectively. We further found that virus-induced ubiquitination and degradation of MITA by RNF5 occurred at the mitochondria. These findings suggest that RNF5 negatively regulates virus-triggered signaling by targeting MITA for ubiquitination and degradation at the mitochondria.

DNA sequencing upstream of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi pilV and rci genes previously identified in the ca. 118-kb major pathogenicity island (X.-L. Zhang, C. Morris, and J. Hackett, Gene 202:139-146, 1997) identified a further 10 pil genes apparently forming a pil operon. The product of the pilS gene, prePilS protein (a putative type IVB structural prepilin) was purified, and an anti-prePilS antiserum was raised in mice. Mutants of serovar Typhi either lacking the whole pil operon or with an insertion mutation in the pilS gene were constructed, as was a strain in which the pilN to pilV genes were driven by the tac promoter. The pil Earlier, it was reported that the major pathogenicity island of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, which is ca. 118 kb in size (11), contained pilV and rci genes, which were cloned and sequenced (22). The Rci gene product was shown to be a site-specific recombinase, active to invert DNA in the C-terminal region of the pilV gene, so that two PilV proteins could be synthesized. Comparisons with database sequences indicated that the two possible pilV genes might code for pilus-tip adhesins, as the serovar Typhi PilV sequence was similar to that of PilV proteins encoded by the Escherichia coli R64 plasmid. In R64-bearing strains, different PilV proteins, borne on type IV pili, select various recipients in liquid mating (the R64-bearing cell is the donor) (10). Both serovar Typhi PilV proteins were seen when the two pilV genes were transcribed from the T7 promoter. The discovery of the serovar Typhi pilV and rci genes in the ca. 118-kb pathogenicity island (henceforth in this work termed the large pathogenicity island) suggested that serovar Typhi might synthesize thin pili belonging to the type IV pilin family (9). As type IV pili, encoded in a Vibrio cholerae pathogenicity island (7, 8) are used by V. cholerae as mediators of adhesion to human cells (13, 18), it was of interest to ask (i) if serovar Typhi also synthesizes type IV pili and (ii) if such pili are important in adherence to or invasion of human intestinal cells. These topics are the subject of this paper. MATERIALS AND METHODSMaterials. All reagents were of molecular biology grade. Enzymes active on DNA were obtained from either GibcoBRL or Boehringer Mannheim and were used as directed by the suppliers. 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-␤-D-galactopyranoside and isopropyl-␤-D-thiogalactopyranoside were purchased from Amersham. Anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (from sheep), conjugated with horseradish peroxidase, was from Amersham. Phosphatase-labeled goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (heavy and light chains) was purchased from KPL Laboratories. p-Nitrophenyl phosphate tablets were from Sigma. Bio-Rad was the supplier of polyvinylidene difluoride membrane. Freund's adjuvant was from GibcoBRL.Strains and vectors. Serovar Typhi J341 (Ty2 Vi Ϫ ) (22) was the source of DNA for a cosmid bank (partially Sau3AI-cut DNA in BamHI-cut pHC79), which was probed with 32 P-labeled total DNA (including the virulence plasmid pSLT) of (wild-type,...

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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a small subset of tumor cells which have the ability to self-renew and generate the diverse cells that comprise the tumor bulk. They are responsible for local tumor recurrence and distant metastasis. However, they are resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Novel immunotherapeutic strategies which specifically target CSCs may improve the efficacy of cancer therapy. To immunologically target CSC phenotypes, innate immune responses to CSCs have been reported using NK cells and γδT cells. To target CSC specifically, in vitro CSC-primed T cells have been successfully generated and shown targeting of CSCs in vivo after adoptive transfer. Recently, CSC-based dendritic cell vaccine has demonstrated significant induction of anti-CSC immunity both in vivo in immunocommpetent hosts and in vitro as evident by CSC reactivity of CSC vaccine-primed antibodies and T cells. In addition, identification of specific antigens or genetic alterations in CSCs may provide more specific targets for immunotherapy. ALDH, CD44, CD133 and HER2 have served as markers to isolate CSCs from a number of tumor types in animal models and human tumors. They might serve as useful targets for CSC immunotherapy. Finally, since CSCs are regulated by interactions with the CSC niche, these interactions may serve as additional targets for CSC immunotherapy. Targeting the tumor microenvironment, such as interrupting the immune cell e.g. myeloid derived suppressor cells, and cytokines e.g. IL-6 and IL-8, as well as the immune checkpoint (PD1/PDL1, et.al) may provide additional novel strategies to enhance the immunological targeting of CSCs.