ER stress-related molecules induced by Hantaan virus infection in differentiated THP-1 cells

Current insights into human pathogenic phenuiviruses and the host immune system

Phenuiviruses are a class of segmented negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, typically consisting of three RNA segments that encode four distinct proteins. The emergence of pathogenic phenuivirus strains, such as Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (RVFV) in sub-Saharan Africa, Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) in East and Southeast Asia, and Heartland Virus (HRTV) in the United States has presented considerable challenges to global public health in recent years. The innate immune system plays a crucial role as the initial defense mechanism of the host against invading pathogens. In addition to continued research aimed at elucidating the epidemiological characteristics of phenuivirus, significant advancements have been made in investigating its viral virulence factors (glycoprotein, non-structural protein, and nucleoprotein) and potential host-pathogen interactions. Specifically, efforts have focused on understanding mechanisms of viral immune evasion, viral assembly and egress, and host immune networks involving immune cells, programmed cell death, inflammation, nucleic acid receptors, etc. Furthermore, a plethora of technological advancements, including metagenomics, metabolomics, single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics, gene editing, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines, have been utilized to further our understanding of phenuivirus pathogenesis and host immune responses. Hence, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the mechanisms of host recognition, viral immune evasion, and potential therapeutic approaches during human pathogenic phenuivirus infections focusing particularly on RVFV and SFTSV.

The Role of Long Noncoding RNA Negative Regulator of Interferon Response in the Regulation of Hantaan Virus Infection

Hantaan virus (HTNV) is prevalent in Eurasia. It causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in regulating innate immunity. Among these, lncRNA negative regulator of interferon response (NRIR) was reported as an inhibitor of several interferon (IFN)-stimulated genes. Our results showed that: NRIR expression was upregulated by HTNV infection in a type I IFN-dependent manner. The expression of NRIR in CD14+ monocytes from HFRS patients in acute phase was significantly higher than that in convalescent phase and healthy controls. HTNV infection in some HTNV-compatible cells was promoted by NRIR. NRIR negatively regulated innate immunity, especially IFITM3 expression. Localized in the nucleus, NRIR bound with HNRNPC, and knockdown of HNRNPC significantly weakened the effect of NRIR in promoting HTNV infection and restored IFITM3 expression. These results indicated that NRIR regulates the innate immune response against HTNV infection possibly through its interaction with HNRNPC and its influence on IFITM3.

A novel endoplasmic reticulum stress-related lncRNA signature for prognosis prediction and immune response evaluation in Stomach adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) is a significant contributor to cancer-related mortality worldwide. Although previous research has identified endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) as a regulator of various tumor-promoting properties of cancer cells, the impact of ERS-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) on STAD prognosis has not yet been investigated. Therefore, our study aims to develop and validate an ERS-related lncRNA signature that can accurately predict the prognosis of STAD patients.

METHODS

We collected RNA expression profiles and clinical data of STAD patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and identified ERS-related genes from the Molecular Signature Database (MSigDB). Co-expression analysis enabled us to identify ERS-related lncRNAs, and we applied univariate Cox, least absolute shrinkage, and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analyses to construct a predictive signature comprising of 9 ERS-related lncRNAs. We assessed the prognostic accuracy of our signature using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and validated our predictive signature in an independent gene expression omnibus (GEO) cohort. We also performed tumor mutational burden (TMB) and tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) analyses. Enrichment analysis was used to investigate the functions and biological processes of the signature, and we identified two distinct STAD patient subgroups through consensus clustering. Finally, we performed drug sensitivity analysis and immunologic efficacy analysis to explore further insights.

RESULTS

The 9 ERS related-lncRNAs signature demonstrated satisfactory predictive performance as an independent prognostic marker and was significantly associated with STAD clinicopathological characteristics. Furthermore, patients in the high-risk group displayed a worse STAD prognosis than those in the low-risk group. Notably, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed significant enrichment of extracellular matrix pathways in the high-risk group, indicating their involvement in STAD progression. Additionally, the high-risk group exhibited significantly lower TMB expression levels than the low-risk group. Consensus clustering revealed two distinct STAD patient subgroups, with Cluster 1 exhibiting higher immune cell infiltration and more active immune functions. Drug sensitivity analysis suggested that the low-risk group was more responsive to oxaliplatin, epirubicinl, and other drugs.

CONCLUSION

Our study highlights the crucial regulatory roles of ERS-related lncRNAs in STAD, with significant clinical implications. The 9-lncRNA signature we have constructed represents a reliable prognostic indicator that has the potential to inform more personalized treatment decisions for STAD patients. These findings shed new light on the pathogenesis of STAD and its underlying molecular mechanisms, offering opportunities for novel therapeutic strategies to be developed for STAD patients.

The inhibition of ORMDL3 prevents Alzheimer's disease through ferroptosis by PERK/ATF4/HSPA5 pathway

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with high incidence and widespread attention. There is currently no clear clarification of the pathogenesis. However, ORMDL3 causes ferroptosis in AD, and the potential mechanisms remain unclear. So, this study explore the function of ORMDL3 on ferroptosis in AD and its potential regulatory mechanisms. APPswe/PS1dE9 mice and C57BL/6 mice were induced into the mice model. The murine microglial BV-2 cells also were induced into the vitro model. In serum samples of AD patients, ORMDL3 mRNA expression levels were upregulated. The serum ORMDL3 levels expression was positively related to the ADL score or MoCA score in AD patients. The serum ORMDL3 expression level was positively related to MMSE score or Hcy levels in AD patients. The mRNA expression of ORMDL3 in the hippocampal tissue of the mice model of AD was upregulated at one, four and eight months. The protein expression of ORMDL3 was upregulated in the mice model of AD. ORMDL3 promoted Alzheimer's disease, and increased oxidative response and ferroptosis in a model of AD. PERK/ATF4/HSPA5 pathway is one important signal pathway for the effects of ORMDL3 in a model of AD. Collectively, these data suggested that ORMDL3 promoted oxidative response and ferroptosis in a model of AD by the PERK/ATF4/HSPA5 pathway, which might be a novel target spot mechanism of ferroptosis in AD and may serve as a regulator of AD-induced ferroptosis.

Increased blood CD226- inflammatory monocytes with low antigen presenting potential correlate positively with severity of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

BACKGROUND

Hantaan virus (HTNV) infection can cause severe hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Inflammatory monocytes (iMOs) are involved in early antiviral responses. Previous studies have found that blood iMOs numbers increase in the acute phase of HFRS. Here, we further identified the phenotypic characteristics of iMOs in HFRS and explored whether phenotypic changes in iMOs were associated with HFRS severity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Blood samples from 85 HFRS patients were used for phenotypic analysis of iMOs by flow cytometry. Plasma HTNV load was determined using RT-PCR. THP-1 cells overexpressing CD226 were used to investigate the effects of CD226 on HLA-DR/DP/DQ and CD80 expression. A mouse model was used to test macrophage phenotype following HTNV infection.

RESULTS

The proportion of CD226- iMOs in the acute phase of HFRS was 66.83 (35.05-81.72) %, which was significantly higher than that in the convalescent phase (5.32 (1.36-13.52) %) and normal controls (7.39 (1.15-18.11) %) (p < 0.0001). In the acute phase, the proportion of CD226- iMOs increased more in patients with more severe HFRS and correlated positively with HTNV load and negatively with platelet count. Notably, CD226- iMOs expressed lower levels of HLA-DR/DP/DQ and CD80 than CD226+ iMOs, and overexpression CD226 could enhance the expression of HLA-DR/DP/DQ and CD80. In a mouse model, HTNV also induced the expansion of CD226- macrophages, with decreased expression of I-A/I-E and CD80.

CONCLUSIONS

CD226- iMOs increased during HTNV infection and the decrease in CD226 hampered the expression of HLA-DR/DP/DQ and CD80, which may promote the immune escape of HTNV and exacerbate clinical symptoms.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a type of cellular stress, always occurs when unfolded or misfolded proteins accumulating in the ER exceed the protein folding capacity. Because of the demand for rapid viral protein synthesis after viral infection, viral infections become a risk factor for ER stress. The hepatocyte is a cell with large and well-developed ER, and hepatitis virus infection is widespread in the population, indicating the interaction between hepatitis viruses and ER stress may have significance for managing liver diseases. In this paper, we review the process that is initiated by the hepatocyte through ER stress against HBV and HCV infection and explain how this information can be helpful in the treatment of HBV/HCV-related diseases.

Construction and validation of a prognostic model for lung adenocarcinoma based on endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the most universal types of cancer all over the world and its morbidity continues to rise year by year. Growing evidence has demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum stress is highly activated in cancer cells and plays a key role in regulating the fate of cancer cells. However, the role and mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum stress in lung adenocarcinoma genesis and development remains unclear. In this research, we developed a prognostic model to predict the overall survival of patients with LUAD utilizing endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes and screened out potential small molecular compounds, which could assist the clinician in making accurate decisions and better treat LUAD patients. Firstly, we downloaded 419 endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes (ERSRGs) from Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB). Secondly, we obtained information about the transcriptome profiling and corresponding clinical data of 59 normal samples and 535 lung adenocarcinoma samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Next, we used the DESeq2 package to identify differentially expressed genes related to endoplasmic reticulum stress. We performed univariate Cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analysis to establish a prognostic model for LUAD patients based on ERSRGs. Then, we carried out univariate and multivariate independent prognostic analysis of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related gene (ERSRG) score and some clinical traits of lung adenocarcinoma. Additionally, we developed a clinically applicable nomogram for predicting survival for LUAD patients over one, three, and five years. Moreover, we carried out a drug sensitivity analysis to identify novel small molecule compounds for LUAD treatment. Finally, we examined the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune cell infiltrating analysis to explore the interactions between immune and cancer cells. 142 differentially expressed ERSRGs were identified by using the DESeq2 package. A prognostic model was built based on 7 differentially expressed ERSRGs after performing univariate Cox regression, LASSO regression, and multivariate Cox regression analysis. According to the results of univariate and multivariate independent prognostic analysis, we found ERSRG score can be used as an independent prognostic maker. Using the Kaplan-Meier curves, we found low-risk patients had higher survival probability than high-risk patients in both training set and test set. A nomogram was drawn to predict 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival probability. The calibration curves explained good performance of the model for the prediction of survival. Phenformin, OSU-03012, GSK-650394 and KIN001-135 were identified as the drugs most likely to provide important information to clinicians about the treatment of LUAD patients. A prognostic prediction model was established based on 7 differentially expressed ERSRGs (PDX1, IGFBP1, DDIT4, PPP1R3G, CFTR, DERL3 and NUPR1), which could effectively predict the prognosis of LUAD patients and give a reference for clinical doctors to help LUAD patients to make better treatment tactics. Based on the 4 small molecule compounds (Phenformin, OSU-03012, GSK-650394 and KIN001-135) we discovered, targeting endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes may also be a therapeutic approach for LUAD patients.

Development and validation of a novel endoplasmic reticulum stress-related lncRNA prognostic signature and candidate drugs in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC), the most common malignancy in women, has a high cancer-related mortality. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), a response to the accumulation of unfolded proteins, has emerging roles in tumorigenesis, including invasion, metastasis, immune escape, etc. However, few studies have focused on the correlation between ERS with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in BC. We attempted to construct an ERS-related lncRNA prognostic signature and study its value in BC from tumor mutational burden (TMB), tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), cluster, clinical treatment, and so on. In the present study, transcriptomic and clinical data of BC patients were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Correlation test, Cox regression analysis, least absolute shrinkage, and selection operator (LASSO) method were performed to determine an ERS-related lncRNA prognostic signature. Survival and predictive performance were analyzed according to Kaplan-Meier curves and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, while nomograms and calibration curves were established. Then, an enrichment analysis was performed to study the functions and biological processes of ERS-related lncRNAs. TMB and TIME were also analyzed to assess the mutational status and immune status. Additionally, by using consensus cluster analysis, we compared differences among tumor subtypes. Drug sensitivity analysis and immunologic efficacy evaluations were performed together for further exploration. We identified a novel prognostic signature consisting of 9 ERS-related lncRNAs. High-risk patients had worse prognoses. The signature had a good predictive performance as an independent prognostic indicator and was significantly associated with clinicopathological characteristics. Enrichment analysis showed that metabolic pathways were enriched in high-risk patients, while immune pathways were more active in low-risk patients. Low-risk patients had lower TMB, higher immune scores, and stronger immune functions. Cluster analysis clarified that cluster 2 had the most active immune functions and was sensitive to more drugs, which may have the best clinical immunological efficacy. A clinical efficacy evaluation revealed that patients in the low-risk group may benefit more from chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. The novel signature has significant clinical implications in prognosis prediction for BC. Our study clarifies that there is a potential connection between the ERS-related lncRNAs and BC, which may provide new treatment guidelines for BC.

Viruses Run: The Evasion Mechanisms of the Antiviral Innate Immunity by Hantavirus

Hantavirus can cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in America, with high mortality and unknown mechanisms. Innate immunity is the host's first-line defense to bridge the acquired immunity against viral infections. However, hantavirus has evolved various strategies in both molecular and cellular aspects to evade the host's natural immune surveillance. The Interferon-I (IFN-I) signaling pathway, a central link of host defense, induces various antiviral proteins to control the infection. This paper summarizes the molecular mechanisms of hantavirus evasion mechanisms of the IFN signaling pathway and cellular processes such as regulated cell death and cell stress. Besides, hantavirus could also evade immune surveillance evasion through cellular mechanisms, such as upregulating immune checkpoint molecules interfering with viral infections. Understanding hantavirus's antiviral immune evasion mechanisms will deepen our understanding of its pathogenesis and help us develop more effective methods to control and eliminate hantavirus.