bPhosphorylation of viral proteins plays important roles in the influenza A virus (IAV) life cycle. By using mass spectrometry, we identified tyrosine 132 (Y132) as a phosphorylation site of the matrix protein (M1) of the influenza virus A/WSN/1933(H1N1). Phosphorylation at this site is essential to the process of virus replication by controlling the nuclear import of M1. We further demonstrated that the phosphorylated tyrosine is crucial for the binding of M1 to the nuclear import factor importin-␣1, since any substitutions at this site severely reduce this protein-protein interaction and damage the importin-␣1-mediated nuclear import of M1. Additionally, the tyrosine phosphorylation which leads to the nuclear import of M1 is blocked by a Janus kinase inhibitor. The present study reveals a pivotal role of this tyrosine phosphorylation in the intracellular transportation of M1, which controls the process of viral replication.
The genome of influenza A virus (IAV) consists of eight segments of negative-sense RNA coding for 14 viral proteins (1-4). With the exception of the newly found PB1 N40, PA-X, and M42 proteins, the remaining 11 viral proteins have been described as phosphorylated proteins either in virions or in infected cells. These remaining proteins include the RNA polymerase PA, PB1, and PB2 proteins, the nucleoprotein (NP), the two envelope proteins, i.e., hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), nonstructural protein 1 (NS1), the nuclear export protein (NEP), the PB1-F2 protein, and the two matrix proteins, M1 and M2 (5-14). Phosphorylation of viral proteins plays an important role in the virus life cycle. Remarkably, phosphorylation of NP controls its intracellular distribution and then affects the transportation of viral RNPs (vRNPs) (15, 16). The phosphorylation of NS1 affects its double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-binding capacity and has been shown to have critical roles in virus replication (13,17). M1, the most abundant protein in virions, also has multiple functions in the influenza A virus life cycle, including uncoating, transcription, nuclear export of vRNPs, assembly, and budding. Early studies indicated that M1 contains phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues (5, 18) and has the potential to be phosphorylated by protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs) (19). Recently, several phosphorylation sites on M1 (including a phosphotyrosine) were reported (14). However, the phosphorylated tyrosine of M1 has not yet been identified, and phosphorylated residues on M1 have not been confirmed functionally (20,21). There is evidence that abnormal modification of M1 by hyperphosphorylation causes its retention in the nucleus (22), which further suggests that this important posttranslational modification of M1 is finely regulated for productive virus growth. In order to further understand the effect of phosphorylation on the functions of M1, we determined the status of M1 phosphorylation and identified tyrosine residue 132 as a phosphorylation site which is critical...