The Human Cytomegalovirus β2.7 Long Non-Coding RNA Prevents Induction of Reactive Oxygen Species to Maintain Viral Gene Silencing during Latency.

ABSTRACT: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a significant source of disease for the immunosuppressed and immunonaive. The treatment of HCMV is made more problematic by viral latency, a lifecycle stage in which the virus reduces its own gene expression and produces no infectious virus. The most highly expressed viral gene during HCMV latency is the viral β2.7 long non-coding RNA. Although we have recently shown that the β2.7 lncRNA lowers levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during infection in monocytes, how this impacts latency is unclear. We now show that β2.7 is important for establishing and maintaining HCMV latency by aiding the suppression of viral lytic gene expression and that this is directly related to its ability to quench reactive oxygen species (ROS). Consistent with this, we also find

SUBMITTER: Perera MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9569889 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature