N-linked glycosylation of dengue virus NS1 protein modulates secretion, cell-surface expression, hexamer stability, and interactions with human complement.

Dengue virus (DENV) NS1 is a versatile non-structural glycoprotein that is secreted as a hexamer, binds to the cell surface of infected and uninfected cells, and has immune evasive functions. DENV NS1 displays two conserved N-linked glycans at N130 and N207. In this study, we examined the role of these two N-linked glycans on NS1 secretion, stability, and function. Because some groups have reported reduced yields of infectious DENV when N130 and N207 are changed, we analyzed glycosylation-deficient NS1 phenotypes using a transgenic expression system. We show that the N-linked glycan at position 130 is required for stabilization of the secreted hexamer whereas the N-linked glycan at residue 207 facilitates secretion and extracellular protein stability. Moreover, NS1 mutants lacking an N-linked glycan at N130 did not interact efficiently with complement components C1s and C4. In summary, our results elucidate the contribution of N-linked glycosylation to the function of DENV NS1.