Viral unmasking of cellular 5S rRNA pseudogene transcripts induces RIG-I-mediated immunity

Chiang, Jessica J.; Sparrer, Konstantin M. J.; Gent, Michiel van; Laessig, Charlotte; Huang, Teng; Osterrieder, Nikolaus; Hopfner, Karl-Peter und Gack, Michaela U. (2018): Viral unmasking of cellular 5S rRNA pseudogene transcripts induces RIG-I-mediated immunity. In: Nature Immunology, Vol. 19, No. 1: pp. 53-62

Abstract

The sensor RIG-I detects double-stranded RNA derived from RNA viruses. Although RIG-I is also known to have a role in the antiviral response to DNA viruses, physiological RNA species recognized by RIG-I during infection with a DNA virus are largely unknown. Using next-generation RNA sequencing (RNAseq), we found that host-derived RNAs, most prominently 5S ribosomal RNA pseudogene 141 (RNA5SP141), bound to RIG-I during infection with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). Infection with HSV-1 induced relocalization of RNA5SP141 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and virus-induced shutoff of host protein synthesis downregulated the abundance of RNA5SP141-interacting proteins, which allowed RNA5SP141 to bind RIG-I and induce the expression of type I interferons. Silencing of RNA5SP141 strongly dampened the antiviral response to HSV-1 and the related virus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as well as influenza A virus (IAV). Our findings reveal that antiviral immunity can be triggered by host RNAs that are unshielded following depletion of their respective binding proteins by the virus.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Chemistry and Pharmacy > Department of Biochemistry
• Subjects: 500 Science > 540 Chemistry
• ISSN: 1529-2908
• Language: English