Effect of Zika virus noncoding RNA (sfRNA) on gene expression in human placental cells
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ABSTRACT: Transcriptome-wide gene expression profiling of cells infected with WT and sfRNA-deficient ZIKV was performed to fully map the effects of sfRNA on the entire spectrum of host antiviral responses. The human placental cell line BeWo was used for this experiment as it is known to support ZIKV replication, is capable of responding to all three types of IFNs, and has a placental origin. BeWo cells were infected with WT ZIKV or xrRNA2’-mutant viruses and at 72 hpi and total RNA was isolated and used for RNA-Seq. RNA Seq data was subjected to the differential gene expression analysis, which demonstrated that production of sfrNA inhibits expression of antiviral genes.
Project description:We and others have demonstrated Zika virus (ZIKV) congenital infection evades double-stranded RNA detection, and may persist in the placenta for the duration of pregnancy without accompanying overt histopathologic inflammation. We used orthogonal approaches to test the hypothesis that ZIKV disrupts placental miRNAs to enable viral persistence and fetal pathogenesis. In primary human trophoblasts, high-throughput sequencing crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (AGO-HITS-CLIP) demonstrated an unexpected disruption of placental miRNA-regulated TGF-β networks. In gnotobiotic mice, absence of microbes rendered normally resistant mice susceptible to congenital ZIKV infection, and placental spatial transcriptomics revealed distinct microenvironments defined by significant upregulation of complement cascade components. Finally, treatment of ZIKV-infected mice with the RNAi-enhancer enoxacin led to loss of ZIKV placental persistence and rescue of fetal growth restriction. These results collectively suggest that ZIKV co-opts miRNA inflammatory regulatory networks to persist in the placenta reservoir, a conduit of vertical transmission and fetal pathogenesis.
Project description:We and others have demonstrated Zika virus (ZIKV) congenital infection evades double-stranded RNA detection, and may persist in the placenta for the duration of pregnancy without accompanying overt histopathologic inflammation. We used orthogonal approaches to test the hypothesis that ZIKV disrupts placental miRNAs to enable viral persistence and fetal pathogenesis. In primary human trophoblasts, high-throughput sequencing crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (AGO-HITS-CLIP) demonstrated an unexpected disruption of placental miRNA-regulated TGF-β networks. In gnotobiotic mice, absence of microbes rendered normally resistant mice susceptible to congenital ZIKV infection, and placental spatial transcriptomics revealed distinct microenvironments defined by significant upregulation of complement cascade components. Finally, treatment of ZIKV-infected mice with the RNAi-enhancer enoxacin led to loss of ZIKV placental persistence and rescue of fetal growth restriction. These results collectively suggest that ZIKV co-opts miRNA inflammatory regulatory networks to persist in the placenta reservoir, a conduit of vertical transmission and fetal pathogenesis.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has caused severe unexpected clinical outcomes in neonates and adults during the recent outbreak in Latin America, particularly in Brazil. Congenital malformations associated with ZIKV have been frequently reported; nevertheless, the mechanism of vertical transmission and the involvement of placental cells remains unclear. In this study, we applied quantitative proteomics analysis in a floating explant model of chorionic villi of human placental tissues incubated with ZIKV and with ZIKV pre-adsorbed with anti-ZIKV envelope protein. The regulation of specific proteins was measured using immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase assays. Altered levels of proteins were involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammatory processes, and the integrin-cytoskeleton complex. Antibody-opsonized ZIKV particles differentially modulated the pattern of protein expression in placental cells; this phenomenon may play a pivotal role in determining the course of infection and the role of mixed infections. These data fill gaps in our understanding of ZIKV in the placenta and help identify infection control targets.
Project description:We utilized an unbiased RNA sequencing approach to profile the lncRNA transcriptome in ZIKV infected Vero cells.We identified a total of 121 lncRNA genes that are differentially regulated at 48 hours post infection (hpi).Protein-lncRNA interaction maps revealed that MALAT1 and NEAT1 share common interacting partners. ZIKV mediated dysregulation of these two regulatory lncRNAs can alter the expression of respective downstream target genes and associated biological functions, importantly cell division. In conclusion, this investigation is the first to provide insight into the biological connection of lncRNAs and Zika virus which can be further explored for developing antiviral therapy.
Project description:Zika Virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with fetal abnormalities by compromising placental integrity. Flavivirus have shown deregulation of the host proteome, specially extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Our hypothesis is that ZIKV infection of placental tissue deregulates specific ECM proteome, allowing a mechanism of persistent infection and loss of placental integrity. Using nine different placental samples from Puerto Rico collected during 2016 ZIKV epidemic, we compared the proteome of five ZIKV infected samples with uninfected controls. Quantitative proteomics was performed using tandem mass tag TMT10plex™ Isobaric Label Reagent Set followed by Q Exactive™ Hybrid Quadrupole Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry. Identification of proteins was performed by Proteome Discover 2.1, and protein fold change in both groups was compared using Limma software. Differentially expressed proteins were analyzed with STRING and Ingenuity Pathway using both the fold change and p-value. TMT analysis showed that ZIKV infected placentas had 94 reviewed differentially abundant proteins, 32 More abundant and 62 Less abundant. STRING analysis results indicate that 45 of the deregulated proteins are cellular components of the ECM and 16 play a role in its structure and organization. Some of the significantly More abundant proteins were Fibrinogen, Vitronectin and Fibronectin. The results we observed in the samples from naturally infected pregnant women may contribute to the understanding of the mechanism (s) employed by ZIKV during placental infection and give insight on novel targets used to disrupt placental function.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy results in an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and vertical transmission across placenta results in severe congenital defects in newborns. While the infectivity and pathological effects of ZIKV on the placental trophoblast progenitor cells in early human embryos remains largely unknown. Here, using the human trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) isolated from human blastocyst, we showed that hTSCs were permissive to ZIKV infection, while resistance to ZIKV increased with differentiation. Combined CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockout and RNA-seq assays, we demonstrated that the intrinsic expression of AXL and TIM-1, as well as the absence of potent interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes (ISGs), contributed to the high sensitivity of hTSCs to ZIKV. Furthermore, using our newly developed hTSC-derived 3 dimensional (3D) placental trophoblast organoid model, we demonstrated that ZIKV infection completely disrupted the structure of mature hTSC-organoids and inhibited syncytialization. Overall, our results clearly demonstrated that hTSCs represented the major target cells of ZIKV, and a possible reduced syncytialization may result from ZIKV infection of early developing placenta. These findings deepened our understanding of the characteristics and consequences of ZIKV infection of trophoblast stem cells in early human embryo.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) infection continues to pose a significant public health concern due to limited available preventive measures and treatments. ZIKV is unique among flaviviruses in its vertical transmission capacity (i.e., transmission from mother to fetus) yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that both African and Asian lineages of ZIKV induce tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) in placental trophoblasts and multiple other mammalian cell types. Amongst investigated flaviviruses, only ZIKV strains trigger TNTs. We show that ZIKV-induced TNTs facilitate transfer of viral particles, proteins, and RNA to neighboring uninfected cells. ZIKV TNT formation is driven exclusively via its non-structural protein 1 (NS1); specifically, the N-terminal region (50 aa) of membrane-bound NS1 is necessary and sufficient for triggering TNT formation in host cells. Using affinity purification-mass spectrometry of cells infected with wild-type NS1 or non-TNT forming NS1 (pNS1deltaTNT) proteins, we found mitochondrial proteins are dominant NS1-interacting partners, consistent with the elevated mitochondrial mass we observed in infected trophoblasts. We demonstrate that mitochondria are siphoned via TNTs from healthy to ZIKV-infected cells, both homotypically and heterotypically, and inhibition of mitochondrial respiration reduced viral replication in trophoblast cells. Finally, ZIKV strains lacking TNT capabilities due to mutant NS1 elicited a robust antiviral Interferon lambda 1/2/3 response, indicating ZIKV's TNT-mediated trafficking also allows ZIKV cell-cell transmission that is camouflaged from host defenses. Together, our findings identify a new stealth mechanism that ZIKV employs for intercellular spread among placental trophoblasts, evasion of antiviral interferon response, and the hijacking of mitochondria to augment its propagation and survival. Discerning the mechanisms of ZIKV intercellular strategies offers a basis for novel therapeutic developments targeting these interactions to limit its dissemination.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that caused an epidemic in the Americas in 2016 and is linked to severe neonatal birth defects, including microcephaly and spontaneous abortion. To better understand the host response to ZIKV infection, we adapted the 10x Genomics Chromium single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) assay to simultaneously capture viral RNA and host mRNA. Using this assay, we profiled the antiviral landscape in a population of human moDCs infected with ZIKV at the single cell level. The bystander cells, which lacked detectable viral RNA, expressed an antiviral state that was enriched for genes coinciding predominantly with a type I interferon (IFN) response. Within the infected cells, viral RNA negatively correlated with type I IFN dependent and independent genes (antiviral module). We modeled the ZIKV specific antiviral state at the protein level leveraging experimentally derived protein-interaction data. We identified a highly interconnected network between the antiviral module and other host proteins. In this work, we propose a new paradigm for the antiviral response to a specific virus, combining an unbiased list of genes that highly correlate with viral RNA on a per cell basis with experimental protein interaction data. Our ZIKV-inclusive scRNA-seq assay will serve as a useful tool to gaining greater insight into the host response to ZIKV and can be applied more broadly to the flavivirus field.
Project description:Interferon ε (IFNε), a unique type I IFN, is thought to protect the host against sexually transmitted infections. Unlike conventional type I IFNs (e.g., IFNα/β), whose expression is undetectable at baseline, IFNε expression is detectable in the epithelium of mucosal tissues, particularly the female reproductive tract (FRT). We found that IFNε expression was not limited to epithelial cells at the FRT. Importantly, in contrast to previous reports, IFNε expression in plasmacytoid dendritic cells and primary cervical epithelial cells was induced by viral infection and by activation of TLR3 or 4 in PBMCs. Induction of IFNε mRNAs was also found in cervicovaginal tissues (CVT) of Zika virus (ZIKV)-infected mice. Mice with IFNε deficiency (Ifnε-/-) did not have impaired induction of interferon-stimulated genes except IFNl, but had altered epithelial and collagen structure in the CVT. Ifnε-/- mice exhibited increased susceptibility to ZIKV infection via an intravaginal route but not via a subcutaneous route, indicating that the protective effect of IFNe was specific to the FRT. Infected Ifnε-/- mice had higher and more sustained viral loads than infected wild-type (WT) mice. Detection of ZIKV infection by single molecule in situ hybridization confirmed that virus spread faster in Ifnε-/- mice than in WT mice. Recombinant murine IFNε protected Ifnar1-/- mice against ZIKV infection when administered through an intravaginal route but not when administered through a subcutaneous route, indicating that the specific role of IFNe at the FRT is independent of IFNAR1 signaling. Our findings indicate that IFNε mediates a novel FRT-specific protective effect on mucosal immunity that limits Zika virus spread.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) compromises the placental integrity infecting the fetus. However, the mechanisms associated with ZIKV penetration into the placenta leading to fetal infection, are unknown. Cystatin B (CSTB), the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), and tyrosine-protein kinase receptor UFO (AXL) have been implicated in inflammation. The purpose of this work iis work aims to investigate CSTB, RAGE, and AXL receptor expression in ZIKV infected placental tissues at term. The hypothesis is that in ZIKV-infected placenta, there is overexpression of CSTB and increased inflammation affecting the RAGE and AXL receptor expression. Pathological analyses of 22 placentas were performed to determine changes caused by ZIKV infection. Quantitative proteomics, immunofluorescence, and Western Blot analysis were performed to analyze proteins and pathways affected by ZIKV infection in frozen placenta. Pathological The pathological analysis confirmed decreased size of capillaries, hyperplasia of Hofbauer cells, disruption in the trophoblasts layer, and cell agglutination associated to with ZIKV infection of placental tissue. ZIKV infection was mostly localized to the trophoblast layer. There was a significant decrease in the expression of CSTB, RAGE and AXLCSTB, RAGE and AXL expression in ZIKV positive placenta. This downregulation can impair immune responses and facilitate virus penetration into the placenta. Results are consistent with our previous studies and literature of on ZIKV infection by activation ofng Inflammasome and Pyroptosis through caspase 1 upregulation and affecting the cellular structure, tissue remodeling, and cell differentiation by upregulation of tubulin beta and heat shock protein 27.