Enterovirus 71 induces apoptosis by directly modulating the conformational activation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax.

Enterovirus 71 (EVA71), a virus of the genus Enterovirus in the family Picornaviridae, is one of the main causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease in infected infants and young children. In this study, we report that cells with EVA71 infection exhibit increased levels of cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation. EVA71 infection induces the conformational activation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and the subsequent formation of oligomers of Bax in mitochondria. Inhibitors that block caspase-8 activation cannot inhibit apoptosis induced by EVA71 infection. Importantly, cells with Bax but not Bak or caspase-8 knockdown show resistance to apoptosis induced by EVA71 infection. Mitochondria isolated from EVA71-infected cells display clear Bax-binding ability and the subsequent release of cytochrome c. Therefore, these results indicate that EVA71 infection directly impacts the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway by modulating the recruitment and activation of Bax.