ArticleMolecular cell2025
A widespread family of viral sponge proteins reveals specific inhibition of nucleotide signals in anti-phage defense.
Article in Molecular cell, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cyclic tri-adenylate controls a CARF-TM effector in type II Panoptes anti-phage systems.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- CBASS limits bacteriophage production while maintaining cell viability in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Cell host & microbe · 2026Article
- Review
- Balancing of immune activation and suppression during phage infection.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Functional diversity of phage sponge proteins that sequester host immune signals.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Phage RyR-domain proteins degrade ADPR-based immune signals and fuel NADbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The CRISPR ring nuclease Csx15 oligomerises on cyclic nucleotide binding to regulate antiviral defence.The Biochemical journal · 2026Article
- A phage-encoded sponge protein suppresses bacterial TIR-Caspase immune signaling.Nature communications · 2026Article
- CBASS limits bacteriophage production while maintaining cell viability inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- In silico approaches for discovering microbial antiviral defense systems.Briefings in bioinformatics · 2025Review
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11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cyclic oligonucleotide-based anti-phage signaling systems (CBASSs) are bacterial anti-phage defense operons that use nucleotide signals to control immune activation. Here, we biochemically screen 57 diverse E. coli and Bacillus phages for the ability to disrupt CBASS immunity and discover anti-CBASS 4 (Acb4) from the Bacillus phage SPO1 as the founding member of a large family of >1,300 immune evasion proteins. A 2.1 Å crystal structure of Acb4 in complex with 3'3'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP)-AMP (3'3'-cGAMP) reveals a tetrameric assembly that functions as a sponge to sequester CBASS signals and inhibit immune activation. We demonstrate that Acb4 alone is sufficient to disrupt CBASS activation in vitro and enable immune evasion in vivo. Analyzing phages that infect diverse bacteria, we explain how Acb4 selectively targets nucleotide signals in host defense and avoids disruption of cellular homeostasis. Together, our results reveal principles of immune evasion protein evolution and explain a major mechanism phages use to inhibit host immunity.
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Registered trials
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.