Host tRNA-Derived RNAs Target the 3′Untranslated Region of SARS-CoV-2

Autor: Emily N. Hendrickson, Marna E. Ericson, Lynne T. Bemis
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Pathogens, Vol 11, Iss 12, p 1479 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-0817
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11121479
Popis: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a need for new understanding of the mechanisms regulating host–pathogen interactions during viral infection. Transfer RNA-derived RNAs (tDRs), previously called transfer RNA fragments (tRFs), have recently emerged as potential regulators of viral pathogenesis. Many predictive studies using bioinformatic approaches have been conducted providing a repertoire of potential small RNA candidates for further analyses; however, few targets have been validated to directly bind to SARS-CoV-2 sequences. In this study, we used available data sets to identify host tDR expression altered in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. RNA-interaction-prediction tools were used to identify sequences in the SARS-CoV-2 genome where tDRs could potentially bind. We then developed luciferase assays to confirm direct regulation through a predicted region of SARS-CoV-2 by tDRs. We found that two tDRs were downregulated in both clinical and in vitro cell culture studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Binding sites for these two tDRs were present in the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) of the SARS-CoV-2 reference virus and both sites were altered in Variants of Concern (VOCs) that emerged later in the pandemic. These studies directly confirm the binding of human tDRs to a specific region of the 3′UTR of SARS-CoV-2 providing evidence for a novel mechanism for host–pathogen regulation.
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