Project description:We examined the transcriptome (polyA+ RNAseq) of parental or ATF3 knock-out A549 lung epithelial adenocarcinoma cell lines in response to either a mock infection or infection with ZIKV.
Project description:Viral infection has a great impact on cellular expression profile of non-coding RNAs and genes. By microarray screening, our study identified 79 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and 140 mRNAs that were differentially expressed in human lung epithelial A549 cells infected with Zika virus (ZIKV). The bioinformatics analysis indicated that many differentially expressed lncRNAs were located in same chromosome as the differentially expressed mRNAs; and these lncRNAs and mRNAs were involved in the host responses to viral infection, including the innate immune response.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) is unique among mosquito-borne flaviviruses in its ability to be sexually transmitted. The testes have been implicated as sites of long-term ZIKV replication, and our previous studies have identified Sertoli cells (SC), the nurse cells of the seminiferous epithelium that govern spermatogenesis, as major targets of ZIKV infection. To improve our understanding of the host-ZIKV interaction within human testicular cells, we analyzed ZIKV-induced proteome changes in SC and mixed seminiferous tubule cells (STC) using high-throughput liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We found that ZIKV infection in SC and STC induced distinct IFN-stimulated proteins and impacted pathways and functional networks associated with innate antiviral defense. IFN signaling was the most significantly enriched pathway and MX1 was the most abundant IFN-stimulated protein in both SC and STC. Increased levels of MX1 at later time points of infection coincided with diminished propagation of ZIKV in SC, whereas silencing of MX1 and IFIT1 enhanced peak ZIKV titers in SC. Furthermore, although downstream IFN-I signaling was found to be functional and restricted ZIKV replication in SC, in comparison to A549 cells, SC exhibited dampened expression of IFN-I/III-stimulated genes despite higher levels of virus progeny and IFN-I/III transcripts. Together, this study highlights the IFN-I/III response as a driver of the antiviral state that limits ZIKV infection in SC and suggests that delayed and reduced robustness of innate antiviral defense in SC may contribute to ZIKV persistence in the testes.
Project description:Glioma stem cells derived from patient samples were infected with ZIKV at MOI of 1 for 48hrs, total RNA was extracted and deep sequenced to compare the gene expression profiles between mock and ZIKV infected cells
Project description:Exercise is a powerful driver of physiological angiogenesis during adulthood, but the mechanisms of exercise-induced vascular expansion are poorly understood. We explored endothelial heterogeneity in skeletal muscle and identified two capillary muscle endothelial cells (mEC) populations which are characterized by differential expression of ATF3/4. Spatial mapping showed that ATF3/4 + mECs are enriched in red oxidative muscle areas while ATF3/4 low ECs lie adjacent to white glycolytic fibers. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that red ATF3/4 + mECs are more angiogenic when compared to white ATF3/4 low mECs. Mechanistically, ATF3/4 in mECs control genes involved in amino acid uptake and metabolism and metabolically prime red (ATF3/4 + ) mECs for angiogenesis. As a consequence, supplementation of non-essential amino acids and overexpression of ATF4 increased proliferation of white mECs. Finally, deleting Atf4 in ECs impaired exercise-induced angiogenesis. Our findings illustrate that spatial metabolic angiodiversity determines the angiogenic potential of muscle ECs.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV), a re-emerging flavivirus is associated with devastating developmental and neurological disease outcomes particularly in infants infected in utero. Towards understanding the molecular underpinning of the unique ZIKV disease pathologies, numerous transcriptome-wide studies have been undertaken. Notably, these studies have overlooked the assimilation of RNA-seq analysis from ZIKV-infected patients with cell culture and cell model systems. We determined that ZIKV-infection in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, mirrored both transcriptional and alternative splicing profiles from previously published RNA-seq data of peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from pediatric patients during early, late acute, and convalescent phases of ZIKV infection. Our analyses show that ZIKV infection in cultured cells correlates with transcriptional changes in patients, while the overlap in alternative splicing profiles was not as extensive. Overall, our data indicate that cell culture model systems support dissection of select molecular changes detected in patients and established the foundation for future studies elucidating the biological implications of alternative splicing during ZIKV infection.
Project description:To determine the effect of Zika virus infection on pre-implantation embryonic development, we performed single blastocyst RNA-Seq on MOCK and ZIKV infected embryos. ZIKV infection results in an increased risk of spontaneous abortion and poor intrauterine growth although the mechanisms underlying fetal loss remain undetermined. Little is known about the impact of ZIKV infection during the earliest stages of pregnancy, or pre- and peri-implantation, because most current studies of ZIKV infection in pregnancy models focus on post-implantation stages. Here, we demonstrate that trophectoderm cells of pre-implantation human and mouse embryos can be efficiently infected with ZIKV, and that trophectoderm can propagate virus causing cell death of neural progenitors. These findings were corroborated by our demonstration that hESC-derived trophectoderm cells are infected by ZIKV in a dose dependent manner. RNAseq of single blastocysts revealed key transcriptional changes in cellular and physiologic functions upon ZIKV infection, including nervous system development and function, prior to commitment to the neural cell lineage. Finally, the pregnancy rate of mice infected pre-implantation was > 50% lower than females infected at E4.5. These results demonstrate that pre-implantation ZIKV infection of trophectoderm leads to miscarriage or spontaneous abortion. Moreover, pre- and peri-implantation ZIKV infects trophectoderm cells that propagate virus over time causing cell death in neural progenitors. Cumulatively, these data demonstrate that vertical pre- and peri-implantation ZIKV infection of trophectoderm impairs fetal development and causes neural progenitor cell death, elucidating a previously unappreciated association of pre- and peri-implantation ZIKV infection and microcephaly.