TRIM5␣ is an interferon-inducible retroviral restriction factor that prevents infection by inducing the abortive disassembly of capsid cores recognized by its C-terminal PRY/SPRY domain. The mechanism by which TRIM5␣ mediates the disassembly of viral cores is poorly understood. Previous studies demonstrated that proteasome inhibitors abrogate the ability of TRIM5␣ to induce premature core disassembly and prevent reverse transcription; however, viral infection is still inhibited, indicating that the proteasome is partially involved in the restriction process. Alternatively, we and others have observed that TRIM5␣ associates with proteins involved in autophagic degradation pathways, and one recent study found that autophagic degradation is required for the restriction of retroviruses by TRIM5␣. Here, we show that TRIM5␣ is basally degraded via autophagy in the absence of restriction-sensitive virus. We observe that the autophagy markers LC3b and lysosome-associated membrane protein 2A (LAMP2A) localize to a subset of TRIM5␣ cytoplasmic bodies, and inhibition of lysosomal degradation with bafilomycin A1 increases this association. To test the requirement for macroautophagy in restriction, we examined the ability of TRIM5␣ to restrict retroviral infection in cells depleted of the autophagic mediators ATG5, Beclin1, and p62. In all cases, restriction of retroviruses by human TRIM5␣, rhesus macaque TRIM5␣, and owl monkey TRIM-Cyp remained potent in cells depleted of these autophagic effectors by small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas9 genome editing. Collectively, these results are consistent with observations that the turnover of TRIM5␣ proteins is sensitive to autophagy inhibition; however, the data presented here do not support observations that the inhibition of autophagy abrogates retroviral restriction by TRIM5 proteins.
IMPORTANCERestriction factors are a class of proteins that inhibit viral replication. Following fusion of a retrovirus with a host cell membrane, the retroviral capsid is released into the cytoplasm of the target cell. TRIM5␣ inhibits retroviral infection by promoting the abortive disassembly of incoming retroviral capsid cores; as a result, the retroviral genome is unable to traffic to the nucleus, and the viral life cycle is extinguished. In the process of restriction, TRIM5␣ itself is degraded by the proteasome. However, in the present study, we have shown that in the absence of a restriction-sensitive virus, TRIM5␣ is degraded by both proteasomal and autophagic degradation pathways. Notably, we observed that restriction of retroviruses by TRIM5␣ does not require autophagic machinery. These data indicate that the effector functions of TRIM5␣ can be separated from its degradation and may have further implications for understanding the mechanisms of other TRIM family members.