Inefficient splicing of segment 7 and 8 mRNAs is an inherent property of influenza virus A/Brevig Mission/1918/1 (H1N1) that causes elevated expression of NS1 protein

SRSF5-Mediated Alternative Splicing of M Gene is Essential for Influenza A Virus Replication: A Host-Directed Target Against Influenza Virus

Splicing of influenza A virus (IAV) RNA is an essential process in the viral life cycle that involves the co-opting of host factors. Here, it is demonstrated that induction of host serine and arginine-rich splicing factor 5 (SRSF5) by IAV facilitated viral replication by enhancing viral M mRNA splicing. Mechanistically, SRSF5 with its RRM2 domain directly bounds M mRNA at conserved sites (M mRNA position 163, 709, and 712), and interacts with U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) to promote M mRNA splicing and M2 production. Mutations introduced to the three binding sites, without changing amino acid code, significantly attenuates virus replication and pathogenesis in vivo. Likewise, SRSF5 conditional knockout in the lung protects mice against lethal IAV challenge. Furthermore, anidulafungin, an approved antifungal drug, is identified as an inhibitor of SRSF5 that effectively blocks IAV replication in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, SRSF5 as an activator of M mRNA splicing promotes IAV replication and is a host-derived antiviral target.

Mutations designed to modify the NS gene mRNA secondary structure affect influenza A pathogenicity <em>in vivo</em>

The influenza A virus genome consists of eight segments of negative-sense RNA that encode up to 18 proteins. During the process of viral replication, positive-sense (+)RNA (cRNA) or messenger RNA (mRNA) is synthesized. Today, there is only a partial understanding of the function of several secondary structures within vRNA and cRNA promoters, and splice sites in the M and NS genes. The most precise secondary structure of (+)RNA has been determined for the NS segment of influenza A virus.  The influenza A virus NS gene features two regions with a conserved mRNA secondary structure located near splice sites. Here, we compared 4 variants of the A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 strain featuring different combinations of secondary structures at the NS segment (+)RNA regions 82-148 and 497-564. We found that RNA structures did not affect viral replication in cell culture. However, one of the viruses demonstrated lower NS1 and NEP expression levels during early stage cell infection as well as reduced pathogenicity in mice compared to other variants. In particular, this virus is characterized by an RNA hairpin in the 82-148 region and a stable hairpin in the 497-564 region.

Influenza virus natural sequence heterogeneity in segment 8 affects interactions with cellular RNA-binding proteins and splicing efficiency

Segment 8 mRNAs of influenza virus A/Brevig Misson/1918/1 (H1N1) are poorly spliced compared to segment 8 mRNAs of influenza virus A/Netherlands/178/95 (H3N2). Using oligonucleotide-mediated protein pull down with oligos spanning the entire length of segment 8 of either influenza virus H1N1 or influenza virus H3N2 we identified cellular RNA binding proteins that interacted with oligonucleotides derived from either H1N1 or H3N2 sequences. When the identified hot spots for RNA binding proteins in H1N1 segment 8 mRNAs were replaced by H3N2 sequences, splicing efficiency increased significantly. Replacing as few as three nucleotides of the H1N1 mRNA with sequences from H3N2 mRNA, enhanced splicing of the H1N1 mRNAs. Cellular proteins U2AF65 and HuR interacted preferentially with the 3'-splice site of H3N2 and overexpression of HuR reduced the levels of unspliced H1N1 mRNAs, suggesting that U2AF65 and HuR contribute to control of influenza virus mRNA splicing.

Human TRA2A determines influenza A virus host adaptation by regulating viral mRNA splicing

Several avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) have adapted to mammalian species, including humans. To date, the mechanisms enabling these host shifts remain incompletely understood. Here, we show that a host factor, human TRA2A (huTRA2A), inhibits avian IAV replication, but benefits human IAV replication by altered regulation of viral messenger RNA (mRNA) splicing. huTRA2A depresses mRNA splicing by binding to the intronic splicing silencer motif in the M mRNA of representative avian YS/H5N1 or in the NS mRNA of representative human PR8/H1N1 virus, leading to completely opposite effects on replication of the human and avian viruses in vitro and in vivo. We also confirm that the M-334 site and NS-234/236 sites are critical for TRA2A binding, mRNA splicing, viral replication, and pathogenicity. Our results reveal the underlying mechanisms of adaptation of avian influenza virus to human hosts, and suggest rational strategies to protect public health.

Changes in RNA secondary structure affect NS1 protein expression during early stage influenza virus infection

RNA secondary structures play a key role in splicing, gene expression, microRNA biogenesis, RNA editing, and other biological processes. The importance of RNA structures has been demonstrated in the life cycle of RNA-containing viruses, including the influenza virus. At least two regions of conserved secondary structure in NS segment (+) RNA are predicted to vary among influenza virus strains with respect to thermodynamic stability; both fall in the NS1 open reading frame. The NS1 protein is involved in multiple virus-host interaction processes, and its main function is to inhibit the cellular immune response to viral infection. Using a reverse genetics approach, four influenza virus strains were constructed featuring mutations that have different effects on RNA secondary structure. Growth curve experiments and ELISA data show that, at least in the first viral replication cycle, mutations G123A and A132G affecting RNA structure in the (82-148) NS RNA region influence NS1 protein expression.

The dynamic proteome of influenza A virus infection identifies M segment splicing as a host range determinant

Pandemic influenza A virus (IAV) outbreaks occur when strains from animal reservoirs acquire the ability to infect and spread among humans. The molecular basis of this species barrier is incompletely understood. Here we combine metabolic pulse labeling and quantitative proteomics to monitor protein synthesis upon infection of human cells with a human- and a bird-adapted IAV strain and observe striking differences in viral protein synthesis. Most importantly, the matrix protein M1 is inefficiently produced by the bird-adapted strain. We show that impaired production of M1 from bird-adapted strains is caused by increased splicing of the M segment RNA to alternative isoforms. Strain-specific M segment splicing is controlled by the 3' splice site and functionally important for permissive infection. In silico and biochemical evidence shows that avian-adapted M segments have evolved different conserved RNA structure features than human-adapted sequences. Thus, we identify M segment RNA splicing as a viral host range determinant.

Species-Specific Host-Virus Interactions: Implications for Viral Host Range and Virulence

A growing number of studies indicate that host species-specific and virus strain-specific interactions of viral molecules with the host innate immune system play a pivotal role in determining virus host range and virulence. Because interacting proteins are likely constrained in their evolution, mutations that are selected to improve virus replication in one species may, by chance, alter the ability of a viral antagonist to inhibit immune responses in hosts the virus has not yet encountered. Based on recent findings of host-species interactions of poxvirus, herpesvirus, and influenza virus proteins, we propose a model for viral fitness and host range which considers the full interactome between a specific host species and a virus, resulting from the combination of all interactions, positive and negative, that influence whether a virus can productively infect a cell and cause disease in different hosts.

Strand-Specific Dual RNA Sequencing of Bronchial Epithelial Cells Infected with Influenza A/H3N2 Viruses Reveals Splicing of Gene Segment 6 and Novel Host-Virus Interactions

Host-influenza virus interplay at the transcript level has been extensively characterized in epithelial cells. Yet, there are no studies that simultaneously characterize human host and influenza A virus (IAV) genomes. We infected human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells with two seasonal IAV/H3N2 strains, Brisbane/10/07 and Perth/16/09 (reference strains for past vaccine seasons) and the well-characterized laboratory strain Udorn/307/72. Strand-specific RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of the infected BEAS-2B cells allowed for simultaneous analysis of host and viral transcriptomes, in addition to pathogen genomes, to reveal changes in mRNA expression and alternative splicing (AS). In general, patterns of global and immune gene expression induced by the three IAVs were mostly shared. However, AS of host transcripts and small nuclear RNAs differed between the seasonal and laboratory strains. Analysis of viral transcriptomes showed deletions of the polymerase components (defective interfering-like RNAs) within the genome. Surprisingly, we found that the neuraminidase gene undergoes AS and that the splicing event differs between seasonal and laboratory strains. Our findings reveal novel elements of the host-virus interaction and highlight the importance of RNA-seq in identifying molecular changes at the genome level that may contribute to shaping RNA-based innate immunity.IMPORTANCE The use of massively parallel RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has revealed insights into human and pathogen genomes and their evolution. Dual RNA-seq allows simultaneous dissection of host and pathogen genomes and strand-specific RNA-seq provides information about the polarity of the RNA. This is important in the case of negative-strand RNA viruses like influenza virus, which generate positive (complementary and mRNA) and negative-strand RNAs (genome) that differ in their potential to trigger innate immunity. Here, we characterize interactions between human bronchial epithelial cells and three influenza A/H3N2 strains using strand-specific dual RNA-seq. We focused on this subtype because of its epidemiological importance in causing significant morbidity and mortality during influenza epidemics. We report novel elements that differ between seasonal and laboratory strains highlighting the complexity of the host-virus interplay at the RNA level.

Influenza A Virus Cell Entry, Replication, Virion Assembly and Movement

Influenza viruses replicate within the nucleus of the host cell. This uncommon RNA virus trait provides influenza with the advantage of access to the nuclear machinery during replication. However, it also increases the complexity of the intracellular trafficking that is required for the viral components to establish a productive infection. The segmentation of the influenza genome makes these additional trafficking requirements especially challenging, as each viral RNA (vRNA) gene segment must navigate the network of cellular membrane barriers during the processes of entry and assembly. To accomplish this goal, influenza A viruses (IAVs) utilize a combination of viral and cellular mechanisms to coordinate the transport of their proteins and the eight vRNA gene segments in and out of the cell. The aim of this review is to present the current mechanistic understanding for how IAVs facilitate cell entry, replication, virion assembly, and intercellular movement, in an effort to highlight some of the unanswered questions regarding the coordination of the IAV infection process.

The DNA damage response activates HPV16 late gene expression at the level of RNA processing

We show that the alkylating cancer drug melphalan activated the DNA damage response and induced human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) late gene expression in an ATM- and Chk1/2-dependent manner. Activation of HPV16 late gene expression included inhibition of the HPV16 early polyadenylation signal that resulted in read-through into the late region of HPV16. This was followed by activation of the exclusively late, HPV16 splice sites SD3632 and SA5639 and production of spliced late L1 mRNAs. Altered HPV16 mRNA processing was paralleled by increased association of phosphorylated BRCA1, BARD1, BCLAF1 and TRAP150 with HPV16 DNA, and increased association of RNA processing factors U2AF65 and hnRNP C with HPV16 mRNAs. These RNA processing factors inhibited HPV16 early polyadenylation and enhanced HPV16 late mRNA splicing, thereby activating HPV16 late gene expression.

An NS-segment exonic splicing enhancer regulates influenza A virus replication in mammalian cells

Influenza virus utilizes host splicing machinery to process viral mRNAs expressed from both M and NS segments. Through genetic analysis and functional characterization, we here show that the NS segment of H7N9 virus contains a unique G540A substitution, located within a previously undefined exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) motif present in the NEP mRNA of influenza A viruses. G540A supports virus replication in mammalian cells while retaining replication ability in avian cells. Host splicing regulator, SF2, interacts with this ESE to regulate splicing of NEP/NS1 mRNA and G540A substitution affects SF2–ESE interaction. The NS1 protein directly interacts with SF2 in the nucleus and modulates splicing of NS mRNAs during virus replication. We demonstrate that splicing of NEP/NS1 mRNA is regulated through a cis NEP-ESE motif and suggest a unique NEP-ESE may contribute to provide H7N9 virus with the ability to both circulate efficiently in avian hosts and replicate in mammalian cells.

Some circulating avian influenza A viruses can infect humans, but the mechanism enabling species jump is poorly understood. Here, Huang et al. identify a nucleotide in NEP of avian H7N9 viruses that affects splicing efficiency of the NS segment and supports virus replication in avian and mammalian cells.

Influenza viruses and mRNA splicing: doing more with less

During their nuclear replication stage, influenza viruses hijack the host splicing machinery to process some of their RNA segments, the M and NS segments. In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge gathered on this interplay between influenza viruses and the cellular spliceosome, with a particular focus on influenza A viruses (IAV). These viruses have developed accurate regulation mechanisms to reassign the host spliceosome to alter host cellular expression and enable an optimal expression of specific spliced viral products throughout infection. Moreover, IAV segments undergoing splicing display high levels of similarity with human consensus splice sites and their viral transcripts show noteworthy secondary structures. Sequence alignments and consensus analyses, along with recently published studies, suggest both conservation and evolution of viral splice site sequences and structure for improved adaptation to the host. Altogether, these results emphasize the ability of IAV to be well adapted to the host's splicing machinery, and further investigations may contribute to a better understanding of splicing regulation with regard to viral replication, host range, and pathogenesis.

Vaccine development for protecting swine against influenza virus

Influenza virus infects a wide variety of species including humans, pigs, horses, sea mammals and birds. Weight loss caused by influenza infection and/or co-infection with other infectious agents results in significant financial loss in swine herds. The emergence of pandemic H1N1 (A/CA/04/2009/H1N1) and H3N2 variant (H3N2v) viruses, which cause disease in both humans and livestock constitutes a concerning public health threat. Influenza virus contains eight single-stranded, negative-sense RNA genome segments. This genetic structure allows the virus to evolve rapidly by antigenic drift and shift. Antigen-specific antibodies induced by current vaccines provide limited cross protection to heterologous challenge. In pigs, this presents a major obstacle for vaccine development. Different strategies are under development to produce vaccines that provide better cross-protection for swine. Moreover, overriding interfering maternal antibodies is another goal for influenza vaccines in order to permit effective immunization of piglets at an early age. Herein, we present a review of influenza virus infection in swine, including a discussion of current vaccine approaches and techniques used for novel vaccine development.

SUMOylation affects the interferon blocking activity of the influenza A nonstructural protein NS1 without affecting its stability or cellular localization

Our pioneering studies on the interplay between the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) and influenza A virus identified the nonstructural protein NS1 as the first known SUMO target of influenza virus and one of the most abundantly SUMOylated influenza virus proteins. Here, we further characterize the role of SUMOylation for the A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (PR8) NS1 protein, demonstrating that NS1 is SUMOylated not only by SUMO1 but also by SUMO2/3 and mapping the main SUMOylation sites in NS1 to residues K219 and K70. Furthermore, by using SUMOylatable and non-SUMOylatable forms of NS1 and an NS1-specific artificial SUMO ligase (ASL) that increases NS1 SUMOylation ~4-fold, we demonstrate that SUMOylation does not affect the stability or cellular localization of PR8 NS1. However, NS1's ability to be SUMOylated appears to affect virus multiplication, as indicated by the delayed growth of a virus expressing the non-SUMOylatable form of NS1 in the interferon (IFN)-competent MDCK cell line. Remarkably, while a non-SUMOylatable form of NS1 exhibited a substantially diminished ability to neutralize IFN production, increasing NS1 SUMOylation beyond its normal levels also exerted a negative effect on its IFN-blocking function. This observation indicates the existence of an optimal level of NS1 SUMOylation that allows NS1 to achieve maximal activity and suggests that the limited amount of SUMOylation normally observed for most SUMO targets may correspond to an optimal level that maximizes the contribution of SUMOylation to protein function. Finally, protein cross-linking data suggest that SUMOylation may affect NS1 function by regulating the abundance of NS1 dimers and trimers in the cell.

Mutations in the M-gene segment can substantially increase replication efficiency of NS1 deletion influenza A virus in MDCK cells

Influenza viruses unable to express NS1 protein (delNS1) replicate poorly and induce large amounts of interferon (IFN). They are therefore considered candidate viruses for live-attenuated influenza vaccines. Their attenuated replication is generally assumed to result from the inability to counter the antiviral host response, as delNS1 viruses replicate efficiently in Vero cells, which lack IFN expression. In this study, delNS1 virus was parallel passaged on IFN-competent MDCK cells, which resulted in two strains that were able to replicate to high virus titers in MDCK cells due to adaptive mutations especially in the M-gene segment but also in the NP and NS gene segments. Most notable were clustered U-to-C mutations in the M segment of both strains and clustered A-to-G mutations in the NS segment of one strain, which presumably resulted from host cell-mediated RNA editing. The M segment mutations in both strains changed the ratio of M1 to M2 expression, probably by affecting splicing efficiency. In one virus, 2 amino acid substitutions in M1 additionally enhanced virus replication, possibly through changes in the M1 distribution between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Both adapted viruses induced levels of IFN equal to that of the original delNS1 virus. These results show that the increased replication of the adapted viruses is not primarily due to altered IFN induction but rather is related to changes in M1 expression or localization. The mutations identified in this paper may be used to enhance delNS1 virus replication for vaccine production.

HPV-16 E2 contributes to induction of HPV-16 late gene expression by inhibiting early polyadenylation

We provide evidence that the human papillomavirus (HPV) E2 protein regulates HPV late gene expression. High levels of E2 caused a read-through at the early polyadenylation signal pAE into the late region of the HPV genome, thereby inducing expression of L1 and L2 mRNAs. This is a conserved property of E2 of both mucosal and cutaneous HPV types. Induction could be reversed by high levels of HPV-16 E1 protein, or by the polyadenylation factor CPSF30. HPV-16 E2 inhibited polyadenylation in vitro by preventing the assembly of the CPSF complex. Both the N-terminal and hinge domains of E2 were required for induction of HPV late gene expression in transfected cells as well as for inhibition of polyadenylation in vitro. Finally, overexpression of HPV-16 E2 induced late gene expression from a full-length genomic clone of HPV-16. We speculate that the accumulation of high levels of E2 during the viral life cycle, not only turns off the expression of the pro-mitotic viral E6 and E7 genes, but also induces the expression of the late HPV genes L1 and L2.