Crystal Structure of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Papain-like Protease Bound to Ubiquitin Facilitates Targeted Disruption of Deubiquitinating Activity to Demonstrate Its Role in Innate Immune Suppression

Background: MERS-CoV papain-like protease (PLpro) processes viral polyproteins and has deubiquitinating activity. Results: A crystal structure of MERS-CoV PLpro bound to ubiquitin guided mutagenesis to disrupt PLpro deubiquitinating activity without affecting polyprotein cleavage. Conclusion: The deubiquitinating activity of MERS-CoV PLpro suppresses the induction of interferon- expression. Significance: Our strategy to selectively disable PLpro deubiquitinating activity enables the study of its specific functions in infection. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a newly emerging human pathogen that was first isolated in 2012. MERS-CoV replication depends in part on a virus-encoded papain-like protease (PLpro) that cleaves the viral replicase polyproteins at three sites releasing non-structural protein 1 (nsp1), nsp2, and nsp3. In addition to this replicative function, MERS-CoV PLpro was recently shown to be a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB) and to possess deISGylating activity, as previously reported for other coronaviral PLpro domains, including that of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. These activities have been suggested to suppress host antiviral responses during infection. To understand the molecular basis for ubiquitin (Ub) recognition and deconjugation by MERS-CoV PLpro, we determined its crystal structure in complex with Ub. Guided by this structure, mutations were introduced into PLpro to specifically disrupt Ub binding without affecting viral polyprotein cleavage, as determined using an in trans nsp34 cleavage assay. Having developed a strategy to selectively disable PLpro DUB activity, we were able to specifically examine the effects of this activity on the innate immune response. Whereas the wild-type PLpro domain was found to suppress IFN- promoter activation, PLpro variants specifically lacking DUB activity were no longer able to do so. These findings directly implicate the DUB function of PLpro, and not its proteolytic activity per se, in the inhibition of IFN- promoter activity. The ability to decouple the DUB activity of PLpro from its role in viral polyprotein processing now provides an approach to further dissect the role(s) of PLpro as a viral DUB during MERS-CoV infection.