Article
Microbiology
Akira J. T. Alexander, Marco Salvemini, Vattipally B. Sreenu, Joseph Hughes, Erich L. Telleria, Maxime Ratinier, Frederick Arnaud, Petr Volf, Benjamin Brennan, Margus Varjak, Alain Kohl
Summary: TOSV is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes and can cause febrile illness, meningitis, and encephalitis. It has been found that sand flies have an exo-siRNA pathway as an immune response against viruses. These findings are important for understanding the mechanisms of mosquito-borne virus transmission.
Article
Virology
Mine Altinli, Mayke Leggewie, Jonny Schulze, Rashwita Gyanwali, Marlis Badusche, Vattipally B. Sreenu, Janina Fuss, Esther Schnettler
Summary: Culex spp. mosquitoes are important vectors of viruses, but their interactions with innate antiviral immunity, especially RNA interference, are not well known. Our study found increased expression of Ago2 and Piwi6 in Culex quinquefasciatus compared to Aedes aegypti. Silencing RNA interference-related proteins showed different antiviral effects for different arboviruses in Culex quinquefasciatus. These results reveal differences in the function of RNA interference proteins between Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti and highlight the virus-specific function of these proteins in Culex quinquefasciatus.
Review
Cell Biology
Hara Kang, Yun Ji Ga, Soo Hyun Kim, Young Hoon Cho, Jung Won Kim, Chaeyeon Kim, Jung-Yong Yeh
Summary: RNA has become a revolutionary tool in battling emerging infectious diseases, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. RNAi therapeutics have shown potential in reducing disease-associated genes, and nucleic acid-based therapies have emerged as alternative treatments. However, there are obstacles to overcome in the use of siRNA-based antiviral therapies, including off-target effects and drug resistance.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Biology
Tongtong Zhu, Guangyi Niu, Yuansheng Zhang, Ming Chen, Chuan-Yun Li, Lili Hao, Zhang Zhang
Summary: Viruses rely on hosts for life and reproduction, causing various symptoms and public health threats. RNA editing plays a crucial role in virus replication, protein synthesis, infectivity, and toxicity. Host-mediated RNA editing sites have been identified in different viruses, but there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms and effects in different virus classes. This study synthesizes current knowledge of host-mediated RNA editing in viruses, presenting diverse editing mechanisms and effects between viruses and hosts.
Review
Microbiology
Mahmoud Bayoumi, Muhammad Munir
Summary: Prokaryotes have evolved an immune system, CRISPR-Cas, to defend against invading mobile genetic elements, with different classes and types based on effector Cas proteins and spacer acquisition components. Cas9 and Cas13 are common nucleases used in targeting viral RNA, offering potential applications in virological and biotechnological research.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexandra R. Willis, Winnie Zhao, Ronesh Sukhdeo, Lina Wadi, Hala Tamim El Jarkass, Julie M. Claycomb, Aaron W. Reinke
Summary: Parental infection can result in offspring with enhanced immunity, as shown in Caenorhabditis elegans infected with N. parisii. The offspring's immunity is induced by the parental transcriptional response to infection, protecting them against multiple classes of pathogens.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kingshuk Panda, Kalichamy Alagarasu, Deepti Parashar
Summary: Dengue fever, a common viral infection in tropical and subtropical regions, lacks effective vaccines or antiviral therapies. Therefore, there is a strong demand for safe and effective therapeutic strategies to reduce the burden of this disease. Oligonucleotide-based strategies offer a promising means of inhibiting viral replication without adverse effects on cellular processes, but face challenges in utilizing such approaches.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anastasia K. Atabekova, Anna D. Solovieva, Denis A. Chergintsev, Andrey G. Solovyev, Sergey Y. Morozov
Summary: One strategy that plants use to defend against viral infection is RNA silencing, or RNA interference (RNAi). This process involves small RNAs derived from viral genomic RNAs and/or mRNAs guiding an Argonaute nuclease (AGO) to target virus-specific RNAs. Viruses, in turn, have developed viral silencing suppressors (VSRs) to counteract this defense mechanism. VSRs are multifunctional proteins that not only inhibit silencing but also perform other functions in the virus infection cycle.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yijie Wang, Guangqiang Li, Mingxia Deng, Xiong Liu, Weixiao Huang, Yao Zhang, Min Liu, Yan Chen
Summary: Hypoxia is a characteristic of cancer, where HIF plays a crucial role in sensing and adapting to low oxygen levels, influencing genome stability, tumor progression, and metabolic reprogramming. However, the efficacy of current HIF inhibitors is limited, highlighting the need for alternative approaches such as targeting RNA helicases for improved cancer treatment outcomes.
PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Shanshan Bai, Duo Jin, Yonggan Jiang, Fenghua Chen, Weining Cheng, Zhijun Qi
Summary: A dual-effect RNAi system based on baculovirus infection and gene silencing was developed to control the fall armyworm. The injection of recombinant baculoviruses carrying small interfering RNA significantly suppressed the expression of target genes and reduced the body weight and length of the larvae, leading to accelerated larval death. These findings suggest the feasibility and prospects of developing biopesticides using a dual-effect RNAi system.
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Virology
Kohei Oishi, Shu Horiuchi, Judith M. Minkoff, Benjamin R. tenOever
Summary: The coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus does not seem to result in increased severity of disease. In this study, it was found that influenza A virus infection interferes with the replication of SARS-CoV-2, but not vice versa. Understanding the consequences of coinfection is crucial as both viruses have the potential to cause significant morbidity and mortality.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yanxin Ren, Xueyu Li, Zhonghui Tian, Yan Xu, Ruilin Zhang, Yang Li
Summary: Zebrafish possess evolutionarily conserved innate and adaptive immunity, making them a valuable model organism for studying infection and immunity. This study evaluated the potential of zebrafish to study antiviral RNAi, showing that virus-derived small interfering RNAs are produced after infection with SINVs and NoVs. The slicing activity of human Ago2 can inhibit RNA virus accumulation when expressed in larval zebrafish, suggesting zebrafish as a unique model for studying the antiviral RNAi pathway.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Farhad Vesuna, Ivan Akhrymuk, Amy Smith, Paul T. Winnard Jr, Shih-Chao Lin, Lauren Panny, Robert Scharpf, Kylene Kehn-Hall, Venu Raman
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread globally, with evolving variants that are more transmissive and show reduced vaccine efficacy. Targeting host proteins such as DDX3 with RK-33 can effectively reduce viral load and downregulate SARS-CoV-2 genes, making it a potential strategy to control infection.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ahmed Kheimar, Laetitia Trapp-Fragnet, Andele M. Conradie, Luca D. Bertzbach, Yu You, Mohammad A. Sabsabi, Benedikt B. Kaufer
Summary: The highly expressed human telomerase RNA (hTR) plays a protective role in many cancers, while the viral telomerase RNA (vTR) encoded by the highly oncogenic Marek's disease virus (MDV) is crucial for tumor formation. However, hTR cannot replace the function of vTR, indicating host-specific anti-apoptotic functions of vTR and hTR.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Ahmed Kheimar, Laetitia Trapp-Fragnet, Andele M. Conradie, Luca D. Bertzbach, Yu You, Mohammad A. Sabsabi, Benedikt B. Kaufer
Summary: This study investigates the role of human telomerase RNA (hTR) in tumorigenesis using a natural virus/host model. The results show that viral telomerase RNA (vTR) and cellular TRs in humans and chickens possess host-specific anti-apoptotic functions, providing important insights for therapeutic strategies targeting apoptosis inhibition in tumorigenesis.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Seyede Fatemeh Nasehi, Yaghoub Fathipour, Sassan Asgari, Mohammad Mehrabadi
Summary: Temperature has a greater impact on the CI phenotype of Habrobracon hebetor wasps than male age, reducing CI penetrance and decreasing the expression of CI factors. CifA shows higher expression levels than CifB, and temperature affects Wolbachia and prophage WO titers as well as the expression levels of cif genes that modulate CI levels.
Article
Agronomy
Zeynab Bagheri, Ali Asghar Talebi, Sassan Asgari, Mohammad Mehrabadi
Summary: The research demonstrates that Wolbachia modulates inbreeding avoidance behavior and promotes sib mating in wasps, leading to an increase in the production of female progeny. This effect helps enhance the transmission of Wolbachia to the next generation.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Michael Leitner, Kayvan Etebari, Sassan Asgari
Summary: This study examines the transcriptional response of Wolbachia-transinfected Aedes aegypti cells to dengue virus (DENV) infection. Differential expression of immune genes, as well as genes related to post-transcriptional modifications, antioxidant enzymes, and heat-shock response, are identified. Additionally, several long non-coding RNAs show differential regulation. These findings provide insights into the initial virus recognition and transcriptional response of Wolbachia-transinfected Aedes aegypti to DENV infection.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kayvan Etebari, Dianne B. J. Taylor, Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Kunjithapatham Dhileepan, Michael J. Furlong, Sassan Asgari
Summary: This study identified a significant mortality in the imported leaf-mining moth population in Australia. Using next generation sequencing, the researchers found highly expressed sequences related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast, in the infected dataset.
Article
Agronomy
Farzad Bidari, Yaghoub Fathipour, Sassan Asgari, Mohammad Mehrabadi
Summary: This study characterized and analyzed the expression of miRNA core genes in B. tabaci and investigated the impact of their silencing on the insect's fitness. The results showed that silencing the miRNA core genes reduced miRNA levels and affected the fertility and survival of B. tabaci. The miRNA core genes could serve as attractive targets for developing an RNAi-based strategy against this insect pest.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mehrdad Alizadeh, Naser Safaie, Masoud Shams-Bakhsh, Mohammad Mehrabadi
Summary: Neoscytalidium novaehollandiae is an important pathogen on woody plants and has been reported for the first time on pine trees in Iran. The study shows that this pathogen has a greater impact on urban forest trees under high temperature and low humidity conditions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Zhenkai Dai, Kayvan Etebari, Sassan Asgari
Summary: The analysis of m(6)A RNA modifications in the mosquito transcriptome and their changes during dengue virus infection provides insights into the role of epigenetics in regulating viral replication in mosquitoes.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Henry de Malmanche, Mazhar Hussain, Esteban Marcellin, Steve Reid, Sassan Asgari
Summary: The Sf9 cell line, widely used for the production of recombinant proteins and virus-like particles, has been found to use RNA interference (RNAi) as an antiviral response to baculovirus infection. Knocking out Dicer-2, a key protein in the RNAi pathway, resulted in increased viral replication in Sf9 cells, indicating a potential role for RNAi in managing chronic viral infections in this cell line.
JOURNAL OF GENERAL VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cameron Bishop, Mazhar Hussain, Leon E. Hugo, Sassan Asgari
Summary: The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia can affect the longevity of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes by regulating their miRNA, providing a potential biocontrol strategy for viruses transmitted by these mosquitoes.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Sassan Asgari
Summary: Insect pathogens are crucial in controlling medical and agricultural pests. Cui et al. found that genetically modified fungi, expressing host mosquito miRNAs, can enhance the fungus's efficacy by suppressing the host immune response. This discovery paves the way for the utilization of cross-kingdom RNA interference in biocontrol.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mazhar Hussain, Guangmei Zhang, Michael Leitner, Lauren M. Hedges, Sassan Asgari
Summary: The study found that the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia blocks replication of dengue virus by inducing the expression of RNase HI gene, and knocking down this gene increases dengue virus replication. Moreover, overexpressing the RNase HI gene can reduce replication of positive sense RNA viruses but has no effect on negative sense RNA viruses, revealing the mechanism of Wolbachia-mediated virus blocking.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhenkai Dai, Sassan Asgari
Summary: Potential erasers of m(6)A in insects have been identified, including the candidate eraser ALKBH8. Experimental results showed that ALKBH8 can reduce the m(6)A levels in Aedes aegypti and Drosophila melanogaster RNAs.
INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Virology
Peter Speck, Jason Mackenzie, Rowena A. Bull, Barry Slobedman, Heidi Drummer, Johanna Fraser, Lara Herrero, Karla Helbig, Sarah Londrigan, Gregory Moseley, Natalie Prow, Grant Hansman, Robert Edwards, Chantelle Ahlenstiel, Allison Abendroth, David Tscharke, Jody Hobson-Peters, Robson Kriiger-Loterio, Rhys Parry, Glenn Marsh, Emma Harding, David A. Jacques, Matthew J. Gartner, Wen Shi Lee, Julie McAuley, Paola Vaz, Frank Sainsbury, Michelle D. Tate, Jane Sinclair, Allison Imrie, Stephen Rawlinson, Andrew Harman, Jillian M. Carr, Ebony A. Monson, Merilyn Hibma, Timothy J. Mahony, Thomas Tu, Robert J. Center, Lok Bahadur Shrestha, Robyn Hall, Morgyn Warner, Vernon Ward, Danielle E. Anderson, Nicholas S. Eyre, Natalie E. Netzler, Alison J. Peel, Peter Revill, Michael Beard, Alistair R. Legione, Alexandra J. Spencer, Adi Idris, Jade Forwood, Subir Sarker, Damian F. J. Purcell, Nathan Bartlett, Joshua M. Deerain, Bruce J. Brew, Sassan Asgari, Helen Farrell, Alexander Khromykh, Daniel Enosi Tuipulotu, David Anderson, Sevim Mese, Yaman Tayyar, Kathryn Edenborough, Jasim Muhammad Uddin, Abrar Hussain, Connor J. I. Daymond, Jacinta Agius, Karyn N. Johnson, Paniz Shirmast, Mahdi Abedinzadeshahri, Robin MacDiarmid, Caroline L. Ashley, Jay Laws, Lucy L. Furfaro, Thomas D. Burton, Stephen M. R. Johnson, Zahra Telikani, Mary Petrone, Justin A. Roby, Carolyn Samer, Andreas Suhrbier, April van der Kamp, Anthony Cunningham, Celeste Donato, Jackie Mahar, Wesley D. Black, Subhash Vasudevan, Roman Lenchine, Kirsten Spann, Daniel J. Rawle, Penny Rudd, Jessica Neil, Richard Kingston, Timothy P. Newsome, Ki Wook Kim, Johnson Mak, Kym Lowry, Nathan Bryant, Joanne Meers, Jason A. Roberts, Nigel McMillan, Larisa I. Labzin, Andrii Slonchak, Leon E. Hugo, Bennett Henzeler, Natalee D. Newton, Cassandra T. David, Patrick C. Reading, Camille Esneau, Tatiana Briody, Najla Nasr, Donna McNeale, Brian McSharry, Omid Fakhri, Bethany A. Horsburgh, Grant Logan, Paul Howley, Paul Young
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Virology
Mazhar Hussain, Kayvan Etebari, Sassan Asgari
Summary: Wolbachia pipientis can block replication of positive sense RNA viruses. A study on Aedes aegypti cell lines revealed that dengue virus (DENV) was blocked in cells carrying the wAlbB strain of Wolbachia, but significantly inhibited in tetracycline-cured cells. RNA-Seq analysis showed the removal of Wolbachia and absence of Wolbachia gene expression in tetracycline-cured cells, while the abundance of phasi charoen-like virus (PCLV) was increased. Decreasing PCLV levels through RNAi resulted in increased DENV replication, indicating an antagonistic interaction between DENV and PCLV.