| 1. |
- Vaid, Roshan, et al.
(author)
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Global loss of cellular m(6)A RNA methylation following infection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants
- 2023
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In: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 33:3, s. 299-313
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Insights into host-virus interactions during SARS-CoV-2 infection are needed to understand COVID-19 pathogenesis and may help to guide the design of novel antiviral therapeutics. N-6-Methyladenosine modification (m(6)A), one of the most abundant cellular RNA modifications, regulates key processes in RNA metabolism during stress response. Gene expression profiles observed postinfection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants show changes in the expression of genes related to RNA catabolism, including m(6)A readers and erasers. We found that infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants causes a loss of m(6)A in cellular RNAs, whereas m(6)A is detected abundantly in viral RNA. METTL3, the m(6)A methyltransferase, shows an unusual cytoplasmic localization postinfection. The B.1.351 variant has a less-pronounced effect on METTL3 localization and loss of m(6)A than did the B.1 and B.1.1.7 variants. We also observed a loss of m(6)A upon SARS-CoV-2 infection in air/liquid interface cultures of human airway epithelia, confirming that m(6)A loss is characteristic of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Further, transcripts with m(6)A modification are preferentially down-regulated postinfection. Inhibition of the export protein XPO1 results in the restoration of METTL3 localization, recovery of m(6)A on cellular RNA, and increased mRNA expression. Stress granule formation, which is compromised by SARS-CoV-2 infection, is restored by XPO1 inhibition and accompanied by a reduced viral infection in vitro. Together, our study elucidates how SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the stress response and perturbs cellular gene expression in an m(6)A-dependent manner.
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| 2. |
- Vaid, R, et al.
(author)
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Global loss of cellular m6A RNA methylation following infection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants
- 2023
-
In: Genome research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1549-5469 .- 1088-9051. ; 33:3, s. 299-313
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Insights into host–virus interactions during SARS-CoV-2 infection are needed to understand COVID-19 pathogenesis and may help to guide the design of novel antiviral therapeutics.N6-Methyladenosine modification (m6A), one of the most abundant cellular RNA modifications, regulates key processes in RNA metabolism during stress response. Gene expression profiles observed postinfection with different SARS-CoV-2 variants show changes in the expression of genes related to RNA catabolism, including m6A readers and erasers. We found that infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants causes a loss of m6A in cellular RNAs, whereas m6A is detected abundantly in viral RNA. METTL3, the m6A methyltransferase, shows an unusual cytoplasmic localization postinfection. The B.1.351 variant has a less-pronounced effect on METTL3 localization and loss of m6A than did the B.1 and B.1.1.7 variants. We also observed a loss of m6A upon SARS-CoV-2 infection in air/liquid interface cultures of human airway epithelia, confirming that m6A loss is characteristic of SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Further, transcripts with m6A modification are preferentially down-regulated postinfection. Inhibition of the export protein XPO1 results in the restoration of METTL3 localization, recovery of m6A on cellular RNA, and increased mRNA expression. Stress granule formation, which is compromised by SARS-CoV-2 infection, is restored by XPO1 inhibition and accompanied by a reduced viral infection in vitro. Together, our study elucidates how SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the stress response and perturbs cellular gene expression in an m6A-dependent manner.
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| 3. |
- Kjellin, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Investigation of the host transcriptional response to intracellular bacterial infection using Dictyostelium discoideum as a host model
- 2019
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In: BMC Genomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2164. ; 20:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: During infection by intracellular pathogens, a highly complex interplay occurs between the infected cell trying to degrade the invader and the pathogen which actively manipulates the host cell to enable survival and proliferation. Many intracellular pathogens pose important threats to human health and major efforts have been undertaken to better understand the host-pathogen interactions that eventually determine the outcome of the infection. Over the last decades, the unicellular eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum has become an established infection model, serving as a surrogate macrophage that can be infected with a wide range of intracellular pathogens. In this study, we use high-throughput RNA-sequencing to analyze the transcriptional response of D. discoideum when infected with Mycobacterium marinum and Legionella pneumophila. The results were compared to available data from human macrophages.Results: The majority of the transcriptional regulation triggered by the two pathogens was found to be unique for each bacterial challenge. Hallmark transcriptional signatures were identified for each infection, e.g. induction of endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) and autophagy genes in response to M. marinum and inhibition of genes associated with the translation machinery and energy metabolism in response to L. pneumophila. However, a common response to the pathogenic bacteria was also identified, which was not induced by non-pathogenic food bacteria. Finally, comparison with available data sets of regulation in human monocyte derived macrophages shows that the elicited response in D. discoideum is in many aspects similar to what has been observed in human immune cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and L. pneumophila.Conclusions: Our study presents high-throughput characterization of D. discoideum transcriptional response to intracellular pathogens using RNA-seq. We demonstrate that the transcriptional response is in essence distinct to each pathogen and that in many cases, the corresponding regulation is recapitulated in human macrophages after infection by mycobacteria and L. pneumophila. This indicates that host-pathogen interactions are evolutionary conserved, derived from the early interactions between free-living phagocytic cells and bacteria. Taken together, our results strengthen the use of D. discoideum as a general infection model.
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