Research in the last 2 decades has demonstrated that a specific organelle of the cell nucleus, termed PML nuclear body (PML-NB) or nuclear domain 10 (ND10), is frequently modified during viral infection. This correlates with antagonization of a direct repressive function of individual PML-NB components, such as the PML, hDaxx, Sp100, or ATRX protein, that are able to act as cellular restriction factors. Recent studies now reveal an emerging role of PML-NBs as coregulatory structures of both type I and type II interferon responses. This emphasizes that targeting of PML-NBs by viral regulatory proteins has evolved as a strategy to compromise intrinsic antiviral defense and innate immune responses. P romyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein, a member of the tripartite motif (TRIM) protein family, is the key component of subnuclear structures known as PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) or nuclear domains 10 (ND10). PML-NBs are dynamic foci that consist of numerous permanently or transiently associated proteins and, consequently, have been implicated in the regulation of diverse cellular functions, including the cell cycle, apoptosis, senescence, stress, and DNA damage responses (reviewed in reference 1). Although the underlying biochemical function of these subnuclear structures is still unclear, three models can be found in the literature, proposing PML-NBs to be nuclear protein depots, sites of nuclear activities (e.g., transcription), or hotspots for posttranslational modifications. In particular, since nearly all PMLassociated proteins are modified by SUMO and SUMOylation of PML is essential for the integrity of PML-NBs, these structures may form "catalytic surfaces" for SUMOylation (1). This is of importance since recent studies suggest that the SUMO pathway is required for the regulation of innate immune signaling and intrinsic immunity during viral infection (reviewed in reference 2). The observation that PML-NBs are targeted and modified by many viruses during infection set off a longstanding debate as to whether PML-NBs exert a pro-or antiviral function and led to a fruitful area of virology research over the past 20 years. Interestingly, these studies revealed that viruses, even representatives of the same virus family, trigger diverse modifications of PML-NBs during infection, ranging from proteasomal degradation of NB components by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), to dispersal of PML-NBs by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), to a rearrangement of PML-NB foci into nuclear track-like structures by adenoviruses or a relocalization of PML into cytoplasmic bodies by HIV-1 (3-5). While there are a few examples of viral factors that undergo interactions with PML-NBs in order to exploit these structures for the benefit of the virus, the main body of evidence supports a role of PML-NBs as components of the antiviral defense against a variety of DNA and RNA viruses (reviewed in reference 3).
PML-NBs AND INTRINSIC IMMUNITYThe role of PML-NBs in intrinsic immunity, which represents the first line of intracellular defense agains...