Rotavirus infection inhibits SLA-I expression on the cell surface by degrading β2M via ERAD-proteasome pathway

Group A Rotavirus (RVA) is a major cause of diarrhea in infants and piglets. β2-microglobulin (β2M), encoded by the B2M gene, serves as a crucial subunit of the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. β2M is indispensable for the transport of MHC-I to the cell membrane. MHC-I, also known as swine leukocyte antigen class I (SLA-I) in pigs, presents viral antigens to the cell surface. In this study, RVA infection down-regulated β2M expression in both porcine intestinal epithelial cells-J2 (IPEC-J2) and MA-104 cells. RVA infection did not down-regulate the mRNA level of the B2M gene, indicating that the down-regulation of β2M occurred on the protein level. Mechanismly, RVA infection triggered β2M aggregation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and enhanced the Lys48 (K48)-linked ubiquitination of β2M, leading to the degradation of β2M through ERAD-proteasome pathway. Furthermore, we found that RVA infection significantly impeded the level of SLA-I on the surface, and the overexpression of β2M could recover its expression. In this study, our study demonstrated that RVA infection degrades β2M via ERAD-proteasome pathway, consequently hampering SLA-I expression on the cell surface. This study would enhance the understanding of the mechanism of how RVA infection induces immune escape.