Hsp90 β is critical for the infection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV) is an emerging disease in East Asia with a fatality rate of up to 30%. SFTS is often characterized by an acute fever accompanied by thrombocytopenia and leukocytopenia, which can cause bleeding and severe consequences. The SFTSV genome is composed of three segments of single-stranded, negative-sense RNA, including large (L), middle (M), and small (S) segments. The S segment applies an ambisense strategy to encode nucleoprotein (NP) and nonstructural protein (NSs). NSs is a virulence factor of SFTSV. This study investigated the role of heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) during SFTSV infection. The association between NSs and Hsp90 isoforms was also explored. The data showed Hsp90 inhibitors could significantly inhibit the SFTSV infection markedly decreased the expression of the SFTSV encoded main virulence factor, NSs, in SFTSV infected cells. This study provides new insight into the regulation of NSs expression by host factors and suggests that Hsp90 inhibitors may exert therapeutic benefits for SFTS disease.
(DKW)