Project description:The human coronavirus OC43 is responsible for 15-30% of seasonal “common cold” infections with typically mild respiratory symptoms. We demonstrated that the coronavirus OC43 derived small peptide encoded by the viral p65 proteins may exhibit molecular mimicry with the pro-algesic fragment of Myelin Basic Protein (MBP). After intrasciatic injection, the p65-derived peptide induced robust pain hypersensitivity in rats lasting for up to 21 days. Transcriptomic analysis at day 21 revealed extensive spinal up-regulation of pro-nociceptive genes. Strikingly, genome-wide isoform switching due to activation of transcriptional start sites and alternative splicing events has occurred. We hypothesized that the coronavirus-derived peptides can dysregulate MBP function in the PNS/CNS and promote neuropathic chronic pain. Our findings offer paradigm-shifting mechanistic understanding of the viral origin of idiopathic neurological effects including chronic neuropathic pain, a condition currently refractory to therapeutic treatment. This new knowledge will lead to new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches to benefit patients with chronic pain.
Project description:This study reports a screen to identify putative inhibitors of the eIF4F complex for potential effects on blocking coronavirus replication, using HCoV-OC43 (OC43) infection of Vero E6 cells and the lung epithelial cancer line A549 as models.
Project description:This study reports a screen to identify putative inhibitors of the eIF4F complex for potential effects on blocking coronavirus replication, using HCoV-OC43 (OC43) infection of Vero E6 cells and the lung epithelial cancer line A549 as models.
Project description:To investigate how SARS-CoV-2 viral peptides alter the immune sensing program in HDMVEC, we treated HDMVEC with SARS-CoV-2 viral peptide-dsRNA complex (xenoAMP(S)-dsRNA), Control(S)-dsRNA, dsRNA only or their associated controls. Control(S) was the homolog sequence of xenoAMP(S) from low pathogenic human coronavirus-OC43(HCoV-OC43). The gene expression profiles in the stimulated HDMVEC were analyzed with RNA sequencing.
Project description:To deal with the broad spectrum of coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that threatens human health, it is essential to develop not only drugs that target viral proteins but also consider drugs that target host proteins/cellular processes to protect them from being hijacked for viral infection and replication. To this end, it has been reported that autophagy is deeply involved in coronavirus infection. In this study, we used airway organoids to screen a chemical library of autophagic modulators to identify compounds that could potentially be used to fight against infections by a broad range of coronaviruses. Among the 80 autophagy-related compounds tested, cycloheximide and thapsigargin reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection efficiency in a dose-dependent manner. Cycloheximide treatment reduced the infection efficiency of not only six SARS-CoV-2 variants but also human coronavirus (HCoV)-229E and HCoV-OC43. Cycloheximide treatment also reversed viral infection-induced innate immune responses. However, even low dose (1 μM) cycloheximide treatment altered the expression profile of ribosomal RNAs, thus side effects such as inhibition of protein synthesis in host cells must be considered. These results suggest that cycloheximide has broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activity in vitro and warrants further investigation.
Project description:The coronavirus HCoV-OC43 circulates continuously in the human population and is a frequent cause of the common cold. Here, we generated a high-resolution atlas of the transcriptional and translational landscape of OC43 at various timepoints following infection of human lung fibroblasts. Using ribosome profiling, we quantified the relative expression of the canonical open reading frames (ORFs) and identified several unannotated ORFs, including short upstream ORFs and a putative ORF nested inside the M gene. In parallel, we analyzed the cellular response to infection. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response genes are transcriptionally and translationally induced, but conventional antiviral genes remain mostly suppressed. At the same time, we observed widespread aberrant translation across cellular transcripts, including over 3′UTRs and of noncoding transcripts normally targeted by the nonsense mediated decay pathway. Taken together, our work provides a genomic resource for further study of OC43 and the cellular response to infection.
Project description:Set of microarray experiments used to identify an unknown coronavirus in a viral culture derived from a patient with SARS. March 2003. Keywords = SARS Keywords = coronavirus Keywords = viral discovery Keywords = viruses Keywords = respiratory infection