Regulation of genes that initiate and amplify inflammatory programs of gene expression is achieved by signal-dependent exchange of coregulator complexes that function to read, write, and erase specific histone modifications linked to transcriptional activation or repression. Here, we provide evidence for the role of trimethylated histone H4 lysine 20 (H4K20me3) as a repression checkpoint that restricts expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) target genes in macrophages. H4K20me3 is deposited at the promoters of a subset of these genes by the SMYD5 histone methyltransferase through its association with NCoR corepressor complexes. Signal-dependent erasure of H4K20me3 is required for effective gene activation and is achieved by NF-κB-dependent delivery of the histone demethylase PHF2. Liver X receptors antagonize TLR4-dependent gene activation by maintaining NCoR/SMYD5-mediated repression. These findings reveal a histone H4K20 trimethylation/demethylation strategy that integrates positive and negative signaling inputs that control immunity and homeostasis.

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious facultative intracellular bacterium that can be transmitted between mammals by arthropod vectors. Similar to many other intracellular bacteria that replicate within the cytosol, such as Listeria, Shigella, Burkholderia, and Rickettsia, the virulence of F. tularensis depends on its ability to modulate biogenesis of its phagosome and to escape into the host cell cytosol where it proliferates. Recent studies have identified the F. tularensis genes required for modulation of phagosome biogenesis and escape into the host cell cytosol within human and arthropod-derived cells. However, the arthropod and mammalian host factors required for intracellular proliferation of F. tularensis are not known. We have utilized a forward genetic approach employing genome-wide RNAi screen in Drosophila melanogaster-derived cells. Screening a library of approximately 21,300 RNAi, we have identified at least 186 host factors required for intracellular bacterial proliferation. We silenced twelve mammalian homologues by RNAi in HEK293T cells and identified three conserved factors, the PI4 kinase PI4KCA, the ubiquitin hydrolase USP22, and the ubiquitin ligase CDC27, which are also required for replication in human cells. The PI4KCA and USP22 mammalian factors are not required for modulation of phagosome biogenesis or phagosomal escape but are required for proliferation within the cytosol. In contrast, the CDC27 ubiquitin ligase is required for evading lysosomal fusion and for phagosomal escape into the cytosol. Although F. tularensis interacts with the autophagy pathway during late stages of proliferation in mouse macrophages, this does not occur in human cells. Our data suggest that F. tularensis utilizes host ubiquitin turnover in distinct mechanisms during the phagosomal and cytosolic phases and phosphoinositide metabolism is essential for cytosolic proliferation of F. tularensis. Our data will facilitate deciphering molecular ecology, patho-adaptation of F. tularensis to the arthropod vector and its role in bacterial ecology and patho-evolution to infect mammals.

Poxviruses include medically important human pathogens, yet little is known about the specific cellular factors essential for their replication. To identify genes essential for poxvirus infection, we used high-throughput RNA interference to screen the Drosophila kinome for factors required for vaccinia infection. We identified seven genes including the three subunits of AMPK as promoting vaccinia infection. AMPK not only facilitated infection in insect cells, but also in mammalian cells. Moreover, we found that AMPK is required for macropinocytosis, a major endocytic entry pathway for vaccinia. Furthermore, we show that AMPK contributes to other virus-independent actin-dependent processes including lamellipodia formation and wound healing, independent of the known AMPK activators LKB1 and CaMKK. Therefore, AMPK plays a highly conserved role in poxvirus infection and actin dynamics independent of its role as an energy regulator.

Dengue fever is the most frequent arthropod-borne viral disease of humans, with almost half of the world's population at risk of infection. The high prevalence, lack of an effective vaccine, and absence of specific treatment conspire to make dengue fever a global public health threat. Given their compact genomes, dengue viruses (DENV-1-4) and other flaviviruses probably require an extensive number of host factors; however, only a limited number of human, and an even smaller number of insect host factors, have been identified. Here we identify insect host factors required for DENV-2 propagation, by carrying out a genome-wide RNA interference screen in Drosophila melanogaster cells using a well-established 22,632 double-stranded RNA library. This screen identified 116 candidate dengue virus host factors (DVHFs). Although some were previously associated with flaviviruses (for example, V-ATPases and alpha-glucosidases), most of the DVHFs were newly implicated in dengue virus propagation. The dipteran DVHFs had 82 readily recognizable human homologues and, using a targeted short-interfering-RNA screen, we showed that 42 of these are human DVHFs. This indicates notable conservation of required factors between dipteran and human hosts. This work suggests new approaches to control infection in the insect vector and the mammalian host.

Nearly 1.7 billion people are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Its ability to survive intracellularly is thought to be central to its success as a pathogen, but how it does this is poorly understood. Using a Drosophila model of infection, we identify three host cell activities, Rab7, CG8743, and the ESCRT machinery, that modulate the mycobacterial phagosome. In the absence of these factors the cell no longer restricts growth of the non-pathogen Mycobacterium smegmatis. Hence, we identify factors that represent unique vulnerabilities of the host cell, because manipulation of any one of them alone is sufficient to allow a nonpathogenic mycobacterial species to proliferate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, in mammalian cells, the ESCRT machinery plays a conserved role in restricting bacterial growth.

Chlamydia spp. are intracellular obligate bacterial pathogens that infect a wide range of host cells. Here, we show that C. caviae enters, replicates, and performs a complete developmental cycle in Drosophila SL2 cells. Using this model system, we have performed a genome-wide RNA interference screen and identified 54 factors that, when depleted, inhibit C. caviae infection. By testing the effect of each candidate's knock down on L. monocytogenes infection, we have identified 31 candidates presumably specific of C. caviae infection. We found factors expected to have an effect on Chlamydia infection, such as heparansulfate glycosaminoglycans and actin and microtubule remodeling factors. We also identified factors that were not previously described as involved in Chlamydia infection. For instance, we identified members of the Tim-Tom complex, a multiprotein complex involved in the recognition and import of nuclear-encoded proteins to the mitochondria, as required for C. caviae infection of Drosophila cells. Finally, we confirmed that depletion of either Tom40 or Tom22 also reduced C. caviae infection in mammalian cells. However, C. trachomatis infection was not affected, suggesting that the mechanism involved is C. caviae specific.

During infection by diverse viral families, RNA replication occurs on the surface of virally induced cytoplasmic membranes of cellular origin. How this process is regulated, and which cellular factors are required, has been unclear. Moreover, the host-pathogen interactions that facilitate the formation of this new compartment might represent critical determinants of viral pathogenesis, and their elucidation may lead to novel insights into the coordination of vesicular trafficking events during infection. Here we show that in Drosophila cells, Drosophila C virus remodels the Golgi apparatus and forms a novel vesicular compartment, on the surface of which viral RNA replication takes place. Using genome-wide RNA interference screening, we found that this step in the viral lifecycle requires at least two host encoded pathways: the coat protein complex I (COPI) coatamer and fatty acid biosynthesis. Our results integrate, clarify, and extend numerous observations concerning the cell biology of viral replication, allowing us to conclude that the coupling of new cellular membrane formation with the budding of these vesicles from the Golgi apparatus allows for the regulated generation of this new virogenic organelle, which is essential for viral replication. Additionally, because these pathways are also limiting in flies and in human cells infected with the related RNA virus poliovirus, they may represent novel targets for antiviral therapies.

Certain pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, survive within the hostile intracellular environment of a macrophage. To identify host factors required for mycobacterial entry and survival within macrophages, we performed a genomewide RNA interference screen in Drosophila macrophage-like cells, using Mycobacterium fortuitum. We identified factors required for general phagocytosis, as well as those needed specifically for mycobacterial infection. One specific factor, Peste (Pes), is a CD36 family member required for uptake of mycobacteria, but not Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, mammalian class B scavenger receptors (SRs) conferred uptake of bacteria into nonphagocytic cells, with SR-BI and SR-BII uniquely mediating uptake of M. fortuitum, which suggests a conserved role for class B SRs in pattern recognition and innate immunity.

Most studies of host-pathogen interactions have focused on pathogen-specific virulence determinants. Here, we report a genome-wide RNA interference screen to identify host factors required for intracellular bacterial pathogenesis. Using Drosophila cells and the cytosolic pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, we identified 305 double-stranded RNAs targeting a wide range of cellular functions that altered L. monocytogenes infection. Comparison to a similar screen with Mycobacterium fortuitum, a vacuolar pathogen, identified host factors that may play a general role in intracellular pathogenesis and factors that specifically affect access to the cytosol by L. monocytogenes.

The widespread class of RNA viruses that utilize internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs) for translation include poliovirus and Hepatitis C virus. To identify host factors required for IRES-dependent translation and viral replication, we performed a genome-wide RNAi screen in Drosophila cells infected with Drosophila C virus (DCV). We identified 66 ribosomal proteins that, when depleted, specifically inhibit DCV growth, but not a non-IRES-containing RNA virus. Moreover, treatment of flies with a translation inhibitor is protective in vivo. Finally, this increased sensitivity to ribosome levels also holds true for poliovirus infection of human cells, demonstrating the generality of these findings.