Project description:Influenza A virus (IAV) is a threat to mankind because it generates yearly epidemics and poorly predictable sporadic pandemics with catastrophic potential. Influenza has a small RNA genome (~14 Kb) composed of 8 mini-chromosomes (segments). Segments encode both structural proteins and proteins expressed only during infection. Segments are constituted by a 5’UTR followed by a coding region and a 3’UTR. Transcription of IAV RNA into mRNA depends on host RNA Polymerase II, as the viral polymerase cleaves 5’ capped cellular nascent transcripts to be used as primers to initiate mRNA synthesis. We hypothesized that host nascent transcripts bearing AUG could generate upstream ORFs in the viral segments, a phenomenon that would depend on the translatability of the viral 5’UTRs. Using orthogonal datasets we report the existence of this mechanism, which generate host-virus chimeric proteins. We show that most segments encode proteins in this manner, expanding the proteome diversity of IAV in infected cells. Host-virus chimeric proteins are conserved across IAV strains, pointing to an evolutionary conservation of function achieved by sampling of the evolutionary space before gene fixation. Thus, we discover a mechanism that generate human-virus chimeric proteins during infection.
Project description:RNA viruses are a major threat to global human health. The life cycles of many highly pathogenic RNA viruses like influenza A virus (IAV) and Lassa virus depends on host mRNA, as viral polymerases cleave 5′m7G-capped host transcripts to prime viral mRNA synthesis (‘cap-snatching’). We hypothesized that start codons within cap-snatched host transcripts could drive the expression of chimeric human-viral coding sequences. Here, we report the existence of this mechanism of gene origination (‘start-snatching’), which creates, depending on the translatability of the viral UTRs, human-virus protein chimeras either as N-terminally extended viral proteins or entirely novel polypeptides by genetic overprinting. We show that both types of chimeric proteins are made in IAV-infected cells, can generate T cell responses and contribute to virulence. Our results indicate that IAV, and likely a multitude of other human-, animal- and plant-viruses, use this host-dependent mechanism to expand their proteome diversity during infection.
Project description:We generated human liver chimeric mice that were repopulated with human hepatocytes and we infected them for 11 weeks with Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Hepatocytes were isolated from the infected chimeric mouse livers and their gene expressions were compared with those from uninfected chimeric mice using RNA-sequencing.
Project description:Chimeric embryos were generated to investigate the effect of Mixl1 knockout in mouse embryos by single-cell RNA-sequencing. Mixl1 is an essential transcription factor for mesendoderm development. Chimeric embryos contain tissue that is Mixl1+/+, which prevents global developmental failures. Embryos were generated by blastocyst injection of tdTomato-labelled, Mixl1-/- mouse embryonic stem cells into wild type embryos. After blastocyst harvest, cells were flow-sorted before 10X Genomics library preparation and single-cell RNA-sequencing.
Project description:Chimeric embryos were generated to investigate the effect of T knockout in mouse embryos by single-cell RNA-sequencing. T is an essential transcription factor for axial embryonic patterning. Chimeric embryos contain tissue that is T+/+, which prevents global developmental failures. Embryos were generated by blastocyst injection of tdTomato-labelled, Tal1-/- mouse embryonic stem cells into wild type embryos. After blastocyst harvest, cells were flow-sorted before 10X Genomics library preparation and single-cell RNA-sequencing.
Project description:We generated chimeric mice with livers that were predominantly repopulated with human hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were isolated from the chimeric mouse livers and their gene expressions were compared with hepatocytes isolated from normal human livers . Cluster and principal components analyses showed that gene expression profiles of hepatocytes from the chimeric mice and those from normal human livers were extremely closed. Additionally, we performed microarray experiments to examine gene expression in human tissues. This data was used for comparison with hepatocytes. A total of 22 tissues (bone marrow, cerebellum, colon, cortex, fetal brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, prostate, salivary gland, skeletal muscle, small intestine, spinal cord, spleen, stomach, testes, thymus, thyroid, trachea and uterus) were examined. The chimeric mice were generated by transplantation of 2 different donor hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were isolated from the mouse livers and normal human livers, and their cDNAs were used for microarray analysis. Total RNA isolated from human tissues and cell cultures were labeled and hybridized to the GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 Array according to the manufacturer's protocol.
Project description:Ribosomal frameshifting refers to the process that ribosomes slip into +1 or -1 reading frame, thus produce chimeric trans-frame proteins. In viruses and bacteria, programmed ribosomal frameshifting can produce essential trans-frame proteins for viral replication or regulation of other biological processes. In humans, however, functional trans-frame protein derived from ribosomal frameshifting is scarcely documented. Combining multiple assays, we show that short codon repeats could act as cis-acting elements that stimulate ribosomal frameshifting in humans, abbreviated as CRFS hereafter. Using proteomic analyses, we identified many putative CRFS events from 32 normal human tissues supported by trans-frame peptides positioned at codon repeats. Finally, we show a CRFS-derived trans-frame protein (HDAC1-FS) functions by antagonizing the activities of HDAC1, thus affecting cell migration and apoptosis. These data suggest a novel type of translational recoding associated with codon repeats, which may expand the coding capacity of mRNA and diversify the regulation in human.
Project description:Ribosomal frameshifting refers to the process that ribosomes slip into +1 or -1 reading frame, thus produce chimeric trans-frame proteins. In viruses and bacteria, programmed ribosomal frameshifting can produce essential trans-frame proteins for viral replication or regulation of other biological processes. In humans, however, functional trans-frame protein derived from ribosomal frameshifting is scarcely documented. Combining multiple assays, we show that short codon repeats could act as cis-acting elements that stimulate ribosomal frameshifting in humans, abbreviated as CRFS hereafter. Using proteomic analyses, we identified many putative CRFS events from 32 normal human tissues supported by trans-frame peptides positioned at codon repeats. Finally, we show a CRFS-derived trans-frame protein (HDAC1-FS) functions by antagonizing the activities of HDAC1, thus affecting cell migration and apoptosis. These data suggest a novel type of translational recoding associated with codon repeats,which may expand the coding capacity of mRNA and diversify the regulation in human.