Identification of DAXX as a restriction factor of SARS-CoV-2
In a paper published in Nature Communications (IF=14.9), the team “Viral trafficking, restriction and innate signaling” led by Sébastien Nisole and Nathalie Arhel, in collaboration with teams from the Pasteur Institute, identifies Daxx protein as a restriction factor inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication in human cells.
First identified through a CRISPR/Cas9 screen in human epithelial lung cells, Daxx was found to translocate from the nucleus to the cytoplasm upon infection by SARS-CoV-2 and to inhibit its replication. In order to escape this restriction, the virus induces Daxx degradation through the viral protease PLPro encoded by Nsp3.
