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Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection Induces an Antiviral Innate Immune Response in Human Dermal Fibroblasts.

ABSTRACT: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) infects most of the human population asymptomatically, but in rare cases it leads to a highly aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). MCC incidence is much higher in aging and immunocompromised populations. The epidemiology of MCC suggests that dysbiosis between the host immune response and the MCPyV infectious cycle could contribute to the development of MCPyV-associated MCC. Insufficient restriction of MCPyV by normal cellular processes, for example, could promote the incidental oncogenic MCPyV integration events and/or entry into the original cell of MCC. Progress toward understanding MCPyV biology has been hindered by its narrow cellular tropism. Our discovery that primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) support MCPyV infection has made it possible to closely model cellular responses to different stages of the infectious cycle. The present study reveals that the onset of MCPyV replication and early gene expression induces an inflammatory cytokine and interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) response. The cGAS-STING pathway, in coordination with NF-κB, mediates induction of this innate immune gene expression program. Further, silencing of cGAS or NF-κB pathway factors led to elevated MCPyV replication. We also discovered that the PYHIN protein IFI16 localizes to MCPyV replication centers but does not contribute to the induction of ISGs. Instead, IFI16 upregulates inflammatory cytokines in response to MCPyV infection by an alternative mechanism. The work described herein establishes a foundation for exploring how changes to the skin microenvironment induced by aging or immunodeficiency might alter the fate of MCPyV and its host cell to encourage carcinogenesis. IMPORTANCE MCC has a high rate of mortality and an increasing incidence. Immune-checkpoint therapies have improved the prognosis of patients with metastatic MCC. Still, a significant proportion of the patients fail to respond to immune-checkpoint therapies or have a medical need for iatrogenic immune-suppression. A greater understanding of MCPyV biology could inform targeted therapies for MCPyV-associated MCC. Moreover, cellular events preceding MCC oncogenesis remain largely unknown. The present study aims to explore how MCPyV interfaces with innate immunity during its infectious cycle. We describe how MCPyV replication and/or transcription elicit an innate immune response via cGAS-STING, NF-κB, and IFI16. We also explore the effects of this response on MCPyV replication. Our findings illustrate how healthy cellular conditions may allow low-level infection that evades immune destruction until highly active replication is restricted by host responses. Conversely, pathological conditions could result in unbridled MCPyV replication that licenses MCC tumorigenesis.

SUBMITTER: Krump NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8437356 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The innate immune system provides the first response to pathogen infection and orchestrates the activation of the adaptive immune system. Though a large component of the innate immune response is common to all infections, pathogen-specific innate immune responses have been documented as well. The innate immune response is thought to be especially critical for fighting infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB). While TB can be a deadly disease, only 5-10% of individuals infected with MTB develop active disease, and this inter-individual variation is, at least partly, heritable. Studies of inter-individual variation in the innate immune response to MTB infection may therefore shed light on the genetic basis for variation in susceptibility to TB. Yet, to date, we still do not know which properties of the innate immune response are specific to MTB infection and which represent a general response to pathogen infection. To begin addressing this gap, we infected macrophages with eight different bacterial pathogens, including different MTB strains and related mycobacteria, and studied the transcriptional response to infection. We found that although the gene expression changes were largely consistent across the bacterial infection treatments, we were able to identify a novel subset of genes whose regulation was affected specifically by infection with mycobacteria. Genetic variants that are associated with regulatory differences in these genes should be considered candidate loci for explaining inter-individual susceptibility TB. RNA-seq of monocyte-derived macrophages isolated from 6 healthy European males at 4, 18, and 48 hours post-infection with the following 8 bacteria: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) H37Rv, Mycobacterium tuberculosis GC1237, MTB GC1237, bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), Mycobacterium smegmatis, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. table-s1.txt is a tab-delimited text file that contains the batch-corrected log2 counts per million for each of the 156 samples, as well as the Ensembl gene ID and gene name. BCG = bacillus Calmette-Guérin GC = Mycobacterium tuberculosis GC1237 Rv = Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) H37Rv Rv+ = heat-inactivated MTB H37Rv Salm = Salmonella typhimurium Smeg = Mycobacterium smegmatis Staph = Staphylococcus epidermidis Yers = Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

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Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Infection Induces an Antiviral Innate Immune Response in Human Dermal Fibroblasts.

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