Human Cytomegalovirus long non-coding RNA counteracts nuclear cGAS to facilitate immune evasion
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE270524 | GEO | 2025/06/12
REPOSITORIES: GEO
Similar Datasets
Project description:Viruses have evolved diverse immune evasion strategies including targeting host pattern recognition receptors. The role of viral non-coding RNAs in modulating PRR activity is unclear. Here, we show that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) produces long non-coding RNA4.9 that counteracts nuclear cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-mediated immune response to facilitate viral infection in primary human foreskin fibroblasts (HFFs). RNA4.9 interacts with host cGAS via its 75-nucleotide (nt) RNA region with predicted hairpin loops. Binding of RNA4.9 to cGAS inhibits cGAS enzymatic activity and downstream interferon response, and facilitates productive viral replication. Sterically blocking the folding of 75-nt region with antisense oligonucleotides during HCMV infection restores cGAS activity and impairs viral replication. We also found that the specific localization of RNA4.9, which concentrates near HCMV DNA, is correlated with its efficient binding to cGAS and subsequent immune suppression. Our findings demonstrate viral non-coding RNAs as critical cGAS regulators and potential therapeutic targets.
2025-06-11 | GSE268887 | GEO
Project description:Viruses are known for their extremely compact genomes composed almost entirely of protein-coding genes. Nonetheless, four long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are encoded by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Although these RNAs accumulate to high levels during lytic infection, their functions remain largely unknown. Here, we show that HCMV-encoded lncRNA4.9 localizes to the viral nuclear replication compartment, and that its depletion restricts viral DNA replication and viral growth. RNA4.9 is transcribed from the HCMV origin of replication (oriLyt) and forms an RNA-DNA hybrid (R-loop) through its G+C-rich 5’ end, and this may be important for the initiation of viral DNA replication. Furthermore, interference with RNA4.9 expression drastically reduces the levels of the viral single-stranded DNA-binding protein (ssDBP), and overexpression of ssDBP alleviates the inhibition of viral DNA replication and growth caused by RNA4.9 depletion. We also identified a similar, oriLyt-embedded, G+C-rich lncRNA in murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Knockdown of this lncRNA interferes with MCMV ssDBP expression and viral DNA replication. These results indicate that HCMV RNA4.9 plays an important role in regulating viral DNA replication by coupling oriLyt activity to ssDBP levels, and that this novel activity may be conserved in other betaherpesviruses.
2020-03-03 | GSE134423 | GEO
Project description:Small, compact genomes confer a selective advantage to viruses, yet human cyto-megalovirus (HCMV) expresses the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs); RNA1.2, RNA2.7, RNA4.9, and RNA5.0. Little is known about the function of these lncRNAs in the virus life cycle. Here, we dissected the functional and molecular landscape of HCMV lncRNAs. We found that HCMV lncRNAs occupy ~30 % and 50~60 % of to-tal and poly(A)+ viral transcriptome, respectively, throughout virus life cycle. RNA1.2, RNA2.7, and RNA4.9, the three abundantly expressed lncRNAs, appear to be es-sential in all infection states. Among these three lncRNAs, depletion of RNA2.7 and RNA4.9 results in the greatest defect in maintaining latent reservoir and promoting lytic replication, respectively. Moreover, we delineated the global post-transcriptional nature of HCMV lncRNAs by nanopore direct RNA sequencing and interactome analysis. We revealed that the lncRNAs are modified with N⁶-methyladenosine (m6A) and interact with m6A readers in all infection states. In-depth analysis demonstrated that m6A machineries stabilize HCMV lncRNAs, which could account for the over-whelming abundance of viral lncRNAs. Our study lays the groundwork for under-standing the viral lncRNA–mediated regulation of host-virus interaction throughout the HCMV life cycle.
2022-11-16 | GSE217713 | GEO
Project description:Small, compact genomes confer a selective advantage to viruses, yet human cyto-megalovirus (HCMV) expresses the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs); RNA1.2, RNA2.7, RNA4.9, and RNA5.0. Little is known about the function of these lncRNAs in the virus life cycle. Here, we dissected the functional and molecular landscape of HCMV lncRNAs. We found that HCMV lncRNAs occupy ~30 % and 50~60 % of to-tal and poly(A)+ viral transcriptome, respectively, throughout virus life cycle. RNA1.2, RNA2.7, and RNA4.9, the three abundantly expressed lncRNAs, appear to be es-sential in all infection states. Among these three lncRNAs, depletion of RNA2.7 and RNA4.9 results in the greatest defect in maintaining latent reservoir and promoting lytic replication, respectively. Moreover, we delineated the global post-transcriptional nature of HCMV lncRNAs by nanopore direct RNA sequencing and interactome analysis. We revealed that the lncRNAs are modified with N⁶-methyladenosine (m6A) and interact with m6A readers in all infection states. In-depth analysis demonstrated that m6A machineries stabilize HCMV lncRNAs, which could account for the over-whelming abundance of viral lncRNAs. Our study lays the groundwork for under-standing the viral lncRNA–mediated regulation of host-virus interaction throughout the HCMV life cycle.
2022-11-16 | GSE217710 | GEO
Project description:Small, compact genomes confer a selective advantage to viruses, yet human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) expresses the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) RNA1.2, RNA2.7, RNA4.9, and RNA5.0. These lncRNAs account for majority of the viral transcriptome, but their functions remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that HCMV lncRNAs, except for RNA5.0, are required throughout the entire viral life cycle. Deletion of each lncRNA resulted in a decrease in viral progeny during lytic replication and failing to efficiently establish latent reservoirs and reactivate. Nanopore direct RNA sequencing of native lncRNA molecules revealed that each lncRNA exhibited a dynamic modification landscape, depending on the state of infection. Global analysis of the lncRNA interactome identified 32, 11, and 89 host factors that specifically bind to RNA1.2, RNA2.7, and RNA4.9, respectively. Moreover, 52 proteins commonly bound to the three lncRNAs were identified, including 11 antiviral immunity-related proteins. Our molecular analyses found that three lncRNAs are modified with N⁶-methyladenosine (m6A) and interact with m6A readers in all infection states. In-depth functional analysis revealed that m6A–mediated lncRNA stabilization as the key mechanism by which lncRNAs are maintained at high levels. Our study lays the groundwork for understanding viral lncRNA–mediated regulation of host-virus interaction throughout the HCMV life cycle.
2022-11-14 | PXD034587 | Pride
Project description:In healthy individuals, immune control of persistent human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is effectively mediated by virus-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. However, identification of the repertoire of T-cell specificities for HCMV is hampered by the immense protein coding capacity of this betaherpesvirus. We applied a novel approach which employs HCMV deletion mutant viruses, lacking HLA class I immunoevasins. Infection of human fibroblast cell lines with those mutant viruses allowed the direct identification of naturally presented HCMV-derived HLA ligands by mass spectrometry. Using this strategy, we identified 368 unique HCMV-derived HLA class I ligands representing an unexpectedly broad panel of 123 HCMV antigens. Functional characterization revealed memory T-cell responses in seropositive individuals for a substantial proportion (28%) of these novel peptides. The unbiased identification of naturally presented viral epitopes enabled a comprehensive and systematic assessment of the physiological repertoire of anti-HCMV T-cell specificities in seropositive individuals. This approach proved to be superior to procedures applying in silico analysis to identify true viral antigens.
2019-11-20 | PXD013120 | Pride
Project description:We have established that human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection modulates the biology of target primary blood monocytes, allowing HCMV to use monocytes as 'vehicles' for its systemic spread. HCMV infection of monocytes results in rapid induction of PI(3)K and NF-kB activity. Integrins, which are upstream of the PI(3)K and NF-kB pathways, were shown to be involved in HCMV binding to and entry into fibroblasts, suggesting that receptor-ligand-mediated signaling following viral binding to integrins on monocytes could trigger the functional changes seen in infected monocytes. We now show that integrin engagement and the activation of the integrin/Src-signaling pathway is essential for the induction of HCMV-infected monocyte motility. To investigate how integrin engagement by HCMV triggers monocyte motility, we examined the infected monocyte transcriptome and found that the integrin/Src-signaling pathway regulates the expression of paxillin, which is an important signal transducer in the regulation of actin rearrangement during cell adhesion and movement. Functionally, we observed that paxillin is activated via the integrin/Src-signaling pathway and is required for monocyte motility. Because motility is intimately connected to cellular cytoskeletal organization, a process that is also important in viral entry, we investigated the role paxillin regulation plays in the process of viral entry of monocytes. New results confirmed that HCMV`s ability to enter target monocytes is significantly inhibited in cells deficient in paxillin expression or that had their integrin/Src/paxillin signaling pathway blocked. From our data, HCMV-cell interactions emerge as an essential trigger for the cellular changes that allow for HCMV entry and hematogenous dissemination. Monocytes were mock-infected, HCMV-infected, or pretreated with PP2 inhibitor prior to HCMV infection. There were three samples analyzed per individual replicate. Three replicates are included. comparative studies with a use of the specific Src kinase activity inhibitor
2010-10-31 | E-GEOD-24238 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) causes severe morbidity and mortality in an immune-compromised or immune-naïve host. Among DNA viruses, the genetic diversity of HCMV is unexpectedly high and comparable to those of RNA viruses, which hinders the development of effective vaccines and causes the emergence of antiviral resistance. However, little is known about how HCMV acquires genetic variation. Here, we propose an evolution strategy of HCMV, that exploits host “jumping DNA” L1 retrotransposon as a mutagen. We found that HCMV infection switches on L1 expression by upregulating transcription factors YY1 and RUNX3. Furthermore, HCMV DNA processivity factor, UL44 recruits L1 ribonucleoproteins to viral replication compartments and induces DNA damage to its genome. Deep-sequencing analysis of cultured HCMV genome revealed that L1 retrotransposon facilitates mutation burden on the viral genome. Indeed, laboratory adaptation of HCMV to fibroblasts is only observed upon active L1 expression. These findings demonstrate the evolution mechanism and molecular insights of how HCMV acquires genetic fitness by the hijacking of host L1 retrotransposon.
2024-08-02 | GSE217152 | GEO
Project description:Upon recognition of aberrantly located DNA, the innate immune sensor cGAS activates STING/IRF-3-driven antiviral responses. Here we characterized the ability of a specific variant of the cGAS-encoding gene MB21D1, rs610913, to alter cGAS-mediated DNA sensing and viral infection. rs610913 is a frequent G>T polymorphism resulting in a P261H exchange in the cGAS protein. Data from the International Collaboration for the Genomics of HIV suggested that rs610913 nominally associates with HIV-1 acquisition in vivo. Molecular modeling of cGAS(P261H) hinted towards the possibility for an additional binding site for a potential cellular co-factor in cGAS dimers. However, cGAS(WT) or cGAS(P261H)-reconstituted THP-1 cGAS KO cells shared steady-state expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), as opposed to cells expressing the enzymatically inactive cGAS(G212A/S213A). Accordingly, cGAS(WT) and cGAS(P261H) cells were less susceptible to lentiviral transduction and infection with HIV-1, HSV-1, and Chikungunya virus as compared to cGAS KO- or cGAS(G212A/S213A) cells. Upon DNA challenge, innate immune activation appeared to be mildly reduced upon expression of cGAS(P261H) compared to cGAS(WT). Finally, DNA challenge of PBMCs from donors homozygously expressing rs610913 provoked a trend towards a slightly reduced type I IFN response as compared to PBMCs from GG donors. Taken together, the steady-state activity of cGAS maintains a base-line antiviral state rendering cells more refractory to ISG-sensitive viral infections. rs610913 failed to grossly differ phenotypically from the wild-type gene, suggesting that cGAS(P261H) and wild-type cGAS share a similar ability to sense viral infections in vivo.
2022-05-25 | GSE203334 | GEO
Project description:Viral DNA sensing is an essential component of mammalian innate immune response. Upon binding viral DNA, the cyclic-GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) catalyzes the production of cyclic dinucleotides to induce type I interferons. However, little is known about how cGAS is homeostatically maintained or regulated upon infection. Here, we define cytoplasmic cGAS interactions with cellular and viral proteins upon herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) infection in primary human fibroblasts. We compare several HSV-1 strains (wild-type, d109, d106) that induce cytokine responses and apoptosis, and place cGAS interactions in the context of temporal proteome alterations using isobaric-labeling mass spectrometry. Follow-up analyses establish a functional interaction between cGAS and 2â??-5â??-oligoadenylate synthase-like protein OASL. The OAS-like domain interacts with the cGAS Mab21 domain, while the OASL ubiquitin-like domain further inhibits cGAS-mediated interferon response. Our findings explain how cGAS may be inactively maintained in cellular homeostasis, with OASL functioning as a negative feedback loop for cytokine induction.
| MSV000084374 | MassIVE