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Knockdown of piRNA pathway proteins results in enhanced Semliki Forest virus production in mosquito cells

The exogenous siRNA pathway is important in restricting arbovirus infection in mosquitoes. Less is known about the role of the PIWI-interacting RNA pathway, or piRNA pathway, in antiviral responses. Viral piRNA-like molecules have recently been described following infection of mosquitoes and derived...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Schnettler, Esther, Donald, Claire L., Human, Stacey, Watson, Mick, Siu, Ricky W. C., McFarlane, Melanie, Fazakerley, John K., Kohl, Alain, Fragkoudis, Rennos
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Society for General Microbiology 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3709635/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23559478
http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/vir.0.053850-0
Descripción
Sumario:The exogenous siRNA pathway is important in restricting arbovirus infection in mosquitoes. Less is known about the role of the PIWI-interacting RNA pathway, or piRNA pathway, in antiviral responses. Viral piRNA-like molecules have recently been described following infection of mosquitoes and derived cell lines with several arboviruses. The piRNA pathway has thus been suggested to function as an additional small RNA-mediated antiviral response to the known infection-induced siRNA response. Here we show that piRNA-like molecules are produced following infection with the naturally mosquito-borne Semliki Forest virus in mosquito cell lines. We show that knockdown of piRNA pathway proteins enhances the replication of this arbovirus and defines the contribution of piRNA pathway effectors, thus characterizing the antiviral properties of the piRNA pathway. In conclusion, arbovirus infection can trigger the piRNA pathway in mosquito cells, and knockdown of piRNA proteins enhances virus production.