Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40233407›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

PCSK9 potentiates innate immune response to RNA viruses by preventing AIP4-mediated polyubiquitination and degradation of VISA/MAVS.

Han Fang, Mengling Shi, Cong Wang, Saiting Zhang, Na Kong, Mengyao Ji, Yan Wang, Yidan Zhou, Qiyun Zhu, Yu Zhang and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Han Fang *State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.ORCID 0009-0008-6021-0575
Mengling Shi *State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
Cong Wang *State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.ORCID 0000-0002-2928-5711
Saiting Zhang *State Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
Na KongState Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
Mengyao JiState Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Yan WangHubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.
Yidan ZhouDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, China.
Qiyun ZhuState Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3748-948X
Yu ZhangSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Shishen DuHubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9809-8653
Shuai XuState Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Prevention and Control, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9176-3809
Caoqi LeiState Key Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety, College of Life Sciences, Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6142-4697

Funding

MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 32070773MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 32270757
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Upon viral infection, retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs) detect viral RNA to initiate antiviral innate immune response, which is mediated by the mitochondrial adaptor protein VISA virus-induced signaling adaptor; also known as mitochondiral antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS). The stability and activity of VISA are tightly regulated by various posttranslational modifications, among which polyubiquitination plays important roles. Various E3 ubiquitin ligases, including atrophin interacting protein 4 (AIP4), mediate polyubiquitination of VISA and result in its degradation. However, how polyubiquitination of VISA is regulated remains unclear. Here, we uncovered a dual function for proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a key enzyme in cholesterol homeostasis and a well-known therapeutic target in cardiovascular diseases, modulating host responses to RNA viruses both extracellularly and intracellularly. Secreted PCSK9 inhibited sendai virus (SeV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection, while the intracellular PCSK9 potentiated RLRs-mediated interferons (IFNs) induction by stabilizing VISA on mitochondria. Viral infection induced the translocation of PCSK9 to mitochondria where it competed with AIP4 for VISA, thereby inhibiting its polyubiquitination and degradation. Consequently, overexpression of PCSK9 enhanced VISA-mediated innate immune response against RNA viral infection, whereas its deficiency had the opposite effects and resulted in more robust replication of the virus.

Indexed as

Adaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingImmunity, InnateProprotein Convertase 9RNA VirusesAnimalsHEK293 CellsHumansMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutProteolysisSendai virusUbiquitinationVesiculovirusAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingMAVS protein, humanMAVS protein, mousePCSK9 protein, humanPcsk9 protein, mouseProprotein Convertase 9innate immune responseinterferonPCSK9VISA/MAVS

Identifiers

PMID40233407
PMCPMC11874596

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.