The lncRNA HCG4 regulates the RIG-I-mediated IFN production to suppress H1N1 swine influenza virus replication

Jinghua Cheng; Jie Tao; Benqiang Li; Ying Shi; Huili Liu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1324218

The lncRNA HCG4 regulates the RIG-I-mediated IFN production to suppress H1N1 swine influenza virus replication

Front Microbiol. 2024 Jan 11:14:1324218. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1324218. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jinghua Cheng^{1

2

3}, Jie Tao^{1

2

3}, Benqiang Li^{1

2

3}, Ying Shi^{1

2

3}, Huili Liu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetic Breeding, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Pig Breeding, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Influenza A virus (IAV) non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is a virulence factor that allows the virus to replicate efficiently by suppressing host innate immune responses. Previously, we demonstrated that the serine (S) at position 42 of NS1 in H1N1 swine influenza virus (SIV) is a critical residue in interferon (IFN) resistance, thus facilitating viral infections. Here, by lncRNA-seq, a total of 153 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified, and the lncRNA HCG4 was selected due to its significantly higher expression after infection with the NS1 S42P mutant virus. Overexpression of HCG4 enhanced IFN-β production and suppressed SIV infection, highlighting the potential antiviral activity of HCG4 against SIV. Further investigation suggested that HCG4 served as a positive feedback mediator for RIG-I signaling. It alleviated the inhibitory effect on RIG-I K63-linked ubiquitination by NS1 protein, thereby resulting in an increase in RIG-I-mediated IFN production. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that HCG4 modulates the innate immune response to SIV infection through K63-linked RIG-I ubiquitination, providing insights into the role of lncRNAs in controlling viral infections.

Keywords: IFN; NS1 protein; RIG-I ubiquitination; lncRNA; swine influenza virus.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32002319) and SAAS Program for Excellent Research Team.