Type I interferon (IFN-I) response plays a prominent role in innate immunity, which is frequently modulated during viral infection. Here, we report DNA methylation regulator UHRF1 as a potent negative regulator of IFN-I induction during alphaherpesvirus infection, whereas the viruses in turn regulates the transcriptional expression of UHRF1. Knockdown of UHRF1 in cells significantly increases interferon-β (IFN-β)-mediated gene transcription and viral inhibition against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) and pseudorabies virus (PRV). Mechanistically, UHRF1 deficiency promotes IFN-I production by triggering dsRNA-sensing receptor RIG-I and activating IRF3 phosphorylation. Knockdown of UHRF1 in cells upregulates the accumulation of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), including host endogenous retroviral sequence (ERV) transcripts, while the treatment of RNase III, known to specifically digest dsRNA, prevents IFN-β induction by siUHRF1. Furthermore, the double-knockdown assay of UHRF1 and DNA methyltransferase DNMT1 suggests that siUHRF1-mediated DNA demethylation may play an important role in dsRNA accumulation and subsequently IFN induction. These findings establish the essential role of UHRF1 in IFN-I-induced antiviral immunity and reveal UHRF1 as a potential antivrial target. IMPORTANCE Alphaherpesviruses can establish lifelong infections and cause many diseases in humans and animals, which rely partly on their interaction with IFN-mediated innate immune response. Using alphaherpesviruses PRV and HSV-1 as models, we identified an essential role of DNA methylation regulator UHRF1 in IFN-mediated immunity against virus replication, which unravels a novel mechanism employed by epigenetic factor to control IFN-mediated antiviral immune response and highlight UHRF1, which might be a potential target for antiviral drug development.
Keywords: DNA methylation; IFN signaling pathway; IRF3; RIG-I; UHRF1; alphaherpesvirus.