The methyltransferase Setdb2 mediates virus-induced susceptibility to bacterial superinfection

Immune responses are tightly regulated to ensure efficient pathogen clearance while avoiding tissue damage. Here we report that SET domain bifurcated 2 (Setdb2) was the only protein lysine methyltransferase induced during influenza virus infection. Setdb2 expression depended on type-I interferon signaling and it repressed the expression of the neutrophil attractant Cxcl1 and other NF-κB target genes. This coincided with Setdb2 occupancy at the Cxcl1 promoter, which in the absence of Setdb2 displayed reduced H3K9 tri-methylation. Setdb2 hypomorphic gene-trap mice exhibited increased neutrophil infiltration in sterile lung inflammation and were less sensitive to bacterial superinfection upon influenza virus infection. This suggests that a Setdb2-mediated regulatory crosstalk between the type-I interferon and NF-κB pathways represents an important mechanism for virus-induced susceptibility to bacterial superinfection.