c-FLIP-Short Reduces Type I Interferon Production and Increases Viremia with Coxsackievirus B3

Cellular FLIP (c-FLIP) is an enzymatically inactive paralogue of caspase-8 and as such can block death receptor-induced apoptosis. However, independent of death receptors, c-FLIP-Long (c-FLIP(L)) can heterodimerize with and activate caspase-8. This is critical for promoting the growth and survival of T lymphocytes as well as the regulation of the RIG-I helicase pathway for type I interferon production in response to viral infections. Truncated forms of FLIP also exist in mammalian cells (c-FLIP(S)) and certain viruses (v-FLIP), which lack the C-terminal domain that activates caspase-8. Thus, the ratio of c-FLIP(L) to these short forms of FLIP may greatly influence the outcome of an immune response. We examined this model in mice transgenically expressing c-FLIP(S) in T cells during infection with Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3). In contrast to our earlier findings of reduced myocarditis and mortality with CVB3 infection of c-FLIP(L)-transgenic mice, c-FLIP(S)-transgenic mice were highly sensitive to CVB3 infection as manifested by increased cardiac virus titers, myocarditis score, and mortality compared to wild-type C57BL/6 mice. This observation was paralleled by a reduction in serum levels of IL-10 and IFN-α in CVB3-infected c-FLIP(S) mice. In vitro infection of c-FLIP(S) T cells with CVB3 confirmed these results. Furthermore, molecular studies revealed that following infection of cells with CVB3, c-FLIP(L) associates with mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), increases caspase-8 activity and type I IFN production, and reduces viral replication, whereas c-FLIP(S) promotes the opposite phenotype.