Circular RNAs : from host RNA molecules to novel broad-spectrum antivirals

La rellevància clínica dels virus transmesos per mosquits, com el virus del dengue (DENV), el virus del zika (ZIKV), el virus del chikungunya (CHIKV) i el virus del Nil Occidental (WNV), ha augmentat dràsticament durant els darrers anys, provocant un problema de salut global. Actualment, no hi ha cap tractament disponible ni cap vacuna efectiva per tractar aquestes infeccions. Tots aquests virus causen infeccions agudes que han de ser tractades ràpidament després de l’aparició dels símptomes inicials perquè els medicaments siguin efectius. Tot i això, el diagnòstic precoç continua sent un repte no resolt. Això evidencia la necessitat de descobrir noves interaccions essencials entre el virus i la cèl·lula que podrien ser utilitzades com a noves dianes terapèutiques; i la necessitat de desenvolupar teràpies antivirals d’ampli espectre, eficients, que puguin ser administrades abans que s’aconsegueixi un diagnòstic precís. En aquesta tesi hem abordat aquests dos grans problemes centrant-nos en els ARNs circulars (circRNAs). Els circRNAs són una classe d’ARN generats a partir de progenitors lineals d'ARN mitjançant un mecanisme alternatiu de splicing anomenat back-splicing. En comparació amb els seus homòlegs lineals, els circRNAs són molt estables a causa de la seva resistència a les exonucleases. Actualment, s’ha descrit la implicació dels circRNAs en les infeccions virals, tanmateix, no es coneix el seu rol precís. El primer capítol de la tesi intenta respondre a aquest buit de coneixement utilitzant el virus de l’hepatitis C (HCV) com a sistema model i analitza l'efecte dels circRNAs identificats en altres virus de la mateixa família, en concret, els virus transmesos per mosquits. Mitjançant anàlisis de seqüenciació d’ARN, hem identificat 73 circRNAs cel·lulars induïts pel HCV. Aquest canvi en l’expressió dels circRNAs no pot ser explicat a través de canvis paral·lels en els ARNs lineals. A més a més, hem identificat que el silenciament de cinc d’aquests circRNAs provoca canvis en la infectivitat viral, actuant com a molècules pro- o anti- virals. Un d’aquests circRNAs, cPSD3, és clau per a la infectivitat del virus del dengue. El segon capítol de la tesi se centra en desenvolupament d’una nova plataforma basada en circRNAs que sigui versàtil, dificulti l’aparició de mutants resistents i permeti desenvolupar antivirals d’ampli espectre. En contrast amb altres teràpies basades en ARN, els circRNAs són molècules altament estables, una característica que simplificarà el seu ús terapèutic. Els circRNAs sintètics dissenyats contenen seqüències llargues que s’hibriden a regions del genoma viral implicades en formar estructures d’RNA essencials per a la supervivència del virus. Com a prova de concepte, hem validat amb èxit circRNAs que inhibeixen el HCV, el DENV, el CHIKV o el WNV. A més, hem generat circRNAs amb capacitat antiviral d’ampli espectre i hem optimitzat la producció in vitro d’aquestes molècules per obtenir quantitats elevades a baix preu. En conclusió, els nostres resultats (i) emfatitzen la complexitat de la interacció entre els circRNAs cel·lulars i els virus i (ii) descobreixen el gran potencial dels circRNAs artificials com a noves plataformes per al desenvolupament de fàrmacs.The clinical importance of the mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue virus (DENV), zika virus (ZIKV) chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and West Nile virus (WNV), has dramatically increased over the last years, resulting in a global health problem. Currently, there are no available treatments or effective vaccines to treat these infections. All these viruses produce acute infections that require to be treated early after the onset of the symptoms for drugs to be effective. However, an early diagnosis remains still as an unsolved challenge. This brings to the spotlight the need to uncover novel fundamental virus-cell interactions that could be targeted and to develop efficient broad-spectrum antiviral therapies that could be administered before an accurate diagnosis is achieved. In this thesis we addressed these two major concerns with a focus in circular RNAs (circRNAs). CircRNAs are a class of RNAs generated from linear RNA progenitors by an alternative splicing mechanism termed back splicing. They are highly stable relative to their linear spliced counterparts due to exonuclease resistance. Currently, cellular circRNAs are described to be involved in viral infections. However, their precise role is mainly unknown. The first chapter of the thesis addresses this intriguing issue using HCV as a model system and analyzing the effect of the identified circRNAs in mosquito-borne viruses that belong to the same viral group. By RNA-Seq analyses we identified 73 HCV-differentially expressed circRNAs whose changes could not be explained by parallel changes in linear mRNAs. Silencing of five selected HCV-induced up-regulated circRNAs altered viral infectivity, acting either as anti-viral or pro-viral molecules. Further characterization of one of the selected circRNAs, cPSD3, show, that it also impaired DENV infections. The second chapter focuses on the generation of a novel circRNA-based platform that is versatile, hampers the emergence of resistant mutants, and allows developing broad-spectrum antivirals. In contrast to other RNA-based therapies, circRNAs are highly stable molecules, a trait that will simplify their therapeutic use. The designed synthetic circRNAs contain long sequences that hybridize to multiple target sequences in the viral RNA genome involved in forming RNA structures essential for virus survival. As a proof of concept, we have successfully validated circRNAs that inhibit HCV, DENV, CHIKV or WNV. Furthermore, we have generated circRNAs with broad-spectrum antiviral capacity and optimized the production in vitro of these molecules to obtain high amounts at low price. In conclusion, our results (i) emphasize the complexity of the interaction between cellular circRNAs and viruses and (ii) uncover the great potential of artificial circRNAs as novel platforms for drug development

Circular RNAs : from host RNA molecules to novel broad-spectrum antivirals

La rellevància clínica dels virus transmesos per mosquits, com el virus del dengue (DENV), el virus del zika (ZIKV), el virus del chikungunya (CHIKV) i el virus del Nil Occidental (WNV), ha augmentat dràsticament durant els darrers anys, provocant un problema de salut global. Actualment, no hi ha cap tractament disponible ni cap vacuna efectiva per tractar aquestes infeccions. Tots aquests virus causen infeccions agudes que han de ser tractades ràpidament després de l’aparició dels símptomes inicials perquè els medicaments siguin efectius. Tot i això, el diagnòstic precoç continua sent un repte no resolt. Això evidencia la necessitat de descobrir noves interaccions essencials entre el virus i la cèl·lula que podrien ser utilitzades com a noves dianes terapèutiques; i la necessitat de desenvolupar teràpies antivirals d’ampli espectre, eficients, que puguin ser administrades abans que s’aconsegueixi un diagnòstic precís. En aquesta tesi hem abordat aquests dos grans problemes centrant-nos en els ARNs circulars (circRNAs). Els circRNAs són una classe d’ARN generats a partir de progenitors lineals d'ARN mitjançant un mecanisme alternatiu de splicing anomenat back-splicing. En comparació amb els seus homòlegs lineals, els circRNAs són molt estables a causa de la seva resistència a les exonucleases. Actualment, s’ha descrit la implicació dels circRNAs en les infeccions virals, tanmateix, no es coneix el seu rol precís. El primer capítol de la tesi intenta respondre a aquest buit de coneixement utilitzant el virus de l’hepatitis C (HCV) com a sistema model i analitza l'efecte dels circRNAs identificats en altres virus de la mateixa família, en concret, els virus transmesos per mosquits. Mitjançant anàlisis de seqüenciació d’ARN, hem identificat 73 circRNAs cel·lulars induïts pel HCV. Aquest canvi en l’expressió dels circRNAs no pot ser explicat a través de canvis paral·lels en els ARNs lineals. A més a més, hem identificat que el silenciament de cinc d’aquests circRNAs provoca canvis en la infectivitat viral, actuant com a molècules pro- o anti- virals. Un d’aquests circRNAs, cPSD3, és clau per a la infectivitat del virus del dengue. El segon capítol de la tesi se centra en desenvolupament d’una nova plataforma basada en circRNAs que sigui versàtil, dificulti l’aparició de mutants resistents i permeti desenvolupar antivirals d’ampli espectre. En contrast amb altres teràpies basades en ARN, els circRNAs són molècules altament estables, una característica que simplificarà el seu ús terapèutic. Els circRNAs sintètics dissenyats contenen seqüències llargues que s’hibriden a regions del genoma viral implicades en formar estructures d’RNA essencials per a la supervivència del virus. Com a prova de concepte, hem validat amb èxit circRNAs que inhibeixen el HCV, el DENV, el CHIKV o el WNV. A més, hem generat circRNAs amb capacitat antiviral d’ampli espectre i hem optimitzat la producció in vitro d’aquestes molècules per obtenir quantitats elevades a baix preu. En conclusió, els nostres resultats (i) emfatitzen la complexitat de la interacció entre els circRNAs cel·lulars i els virus i (ii) descobreixen el gran potencial dels circRNAs artificials com a noves plataformes per al desenvolupament de fàrmacs.The clinical importance of the mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue virus (DENV), zika virus (ZIKV) chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and West Nile virus (WNV), has dramatically increased over the last years, resulting in a global health problem. Currently, there are no available treatments or effective vaccines to treat these infections. All these viruses produce acute infections that require to be treated early after the onset of the symptoms for drugs to be effective. However, an early diagnosis remains still as an unsolved challenge. This brings to the spotlight the need to uncover novel fundamental virus-cell interactions that could be targeted and to develop efficient broad-spectrum antiviral therapies that could be administered before an accurate diagnosis is achieved. In this thesis we addressed these two major concerns with a focus in circular RNAs (circRNAs). CircRNAs are a class of RNAs generated from linear RNA progenitors by an alternative splicing mechanism termed back splicing. They are highly stable relative to their linear spliced counterparts due to exonuclease resistance. Currently, cellular circRNAs are described to be involved in viral infections. However, their precise role is mainly unknown. The first chapter of the thesis addresses this intriguing issue using HCV as a model system and analyzing the effect of the identified circRNAs in mosquito-borne viruses that belong to the same viral group. By RNA-Seq analyses we identified 73 HCV-differentially expressed circRNAs whose changes could not be explained by parallel changes in linear mRNAs. Silencing of five selected HCV-induced up-regulated circRNAs altered viral infectivity, acting either as anti-viral or pro-viral molecules. Further characterization of one of the selected circRNAs, cPSD3, show, that it also impaired DENV infections. The second chapter focuses on the generation of a novel circRNA-based platform that is versatile, hampers the emergence of resistant mutants, and allows developing broad-spectrum antivirals. In contrast to other RNA-based therapies, circRNAs are highly stable molecules, a trait that will simplify their therapeutic use. The designed synthetic circRNAs contain long sequences that hybridize to multiple target sequences in the viral RNA genome involved in forming RNA structures essential for virus survival. As a proof of concept, we have successfully validated circRNAs that inhibit HCV, DENV, CHIKV or WNV. Furthermore, we have generated circRNAs with broad-spectrum antiviral capacity and optimized the production in vitro of these molecules to obtain high amounts at low price. In conclusion, our results (i) emphasize the complexity of the interaction between cellular circRNAs and viruses and (ii) uncover the great potential of artificial circRNAs as novel platforms for drug development

The host tRNA epitranscriptome: A new player in RNA virus infections

Viruses completely depend on the host translation machineries to express the viral proteins. Recent data reveal an unprecedented interaction of positive strand RNA ((+)RNA) viruses with the host tRNA epitranscriptome to favor viral protein expression via a specific reprogramming of codon optimality that ultimately favors decoding of the viral codons. We propose that this feature is shared by multiple RNA viruses and that the involved tRNA modifying enzymes represent promising novel targets for the development of broad-spectrum antivirals.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (AEI/MINECO/FEDER, UE; PID2019-106959RB-I00) and the “Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu” funded by the AEI (CEX2018-000792-M)

CHIKV infection reprograms codon optimality to favor viral RNA translation by altering the tRNA epitranscriptome

Ample evidence indicates that codon usage bias regulates gene expression. How viruses, such as the emerging mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), express their genomes at high levels despite an enrichment in rare codons remains a puzzling question. Using ribosome footprinting, we analyze translational changes that occur upon CHIKV infection. We show that CHIKV infection induces codon-specific reprogramming of the host translation machinery to favor the translation of viral RNA genomes over host mRNAs with an otherwise optimal codon usage. This reprogramming was mostly apparent at the endoplasmic reticulum, where CHIKV RNAs show high ribosome occupancy. Mechanistically, it involves CHIKV-induced overexpression of KIAA1456, an enzyme that modifies the wobble U34 position in the anticodon of tRNAs, which is required for proper decoding of codons that are highly enriched in CHIKV RNAs. Our findings demonstrate an unprecedented interplay of viruses with the host tRNA epitranscriptome to adapt the host translation machinery to viral production.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-106959RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and PCIN-2016-106 to JD and PGC2018-098152-A-100 to EMN) and by an institutional “María de Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018-000792-M) and by the 2017 SGR 909 grant from the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya. RB was a recipient of a Juan de la Cierva fellowship. Mass spectrometric analyses were performed in the CRG/UPF Proteomics Unit (Proteored, PRB3, grant PT17/0019 PE I + D + i 2013-2016, ISCIII and ERDF). We thank C. V. Nicchitta and S. Leidel for experimental advice and F. Gebauer and A. Meyerhans for fruitful discussions. We acknowledge the support of the MEIC to the EMBL partnership, Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa and CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya

Host-derived circular RNAs display proviral activities in Hepatitis C virus-infected cells

Viruses subvert macromolecular pathways in infected host cells to aid in viral gene amplification or to counteract innate immune responses. Roles for host-encoded, noncoding RNAs, including microRNAs, have been found to provide pro- and anti-viral functions. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs), that are generated by a nuclear back-splicing mechanism of pre-mRNAs, have been implicated to have roles in DNA virus-infected cells. This study examines the circular RNA landscape in uninfected and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver cells. Results showed that the abundances of distinct classes of circRNAs were up-regulated or down-regulated in infected cells. Identified circRNAs displayed pro-viral effects. One particular up-regulated circRNA, circPSD3, displayed a very pronounced effect on viral RNA abundances in both hepatitis C virus- and Dengue virus-infected cells. Though circPSD3 has been shown to bind factor eIF4A3 that modulates the cellular nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) pathway, circPSD3 regulates RNA amplification in a pro-viral manner at a post-translational step, while eIF4A3 exhibits the anti-viral property of the NMD pathway. Findings from the global analyses of the circular RNA landscape argue that pro-, and likely, anti-viral functions are executed by circRNAs that modulate viral gene expression as well as host pathways. Because of their long half-lives, circRNAs likely play hitherto unknown, important roles in viral pathogenesis.This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (https://www.nih.gov) (R01AI06900011) and NIH grants R01GM122406 and R01AG057700 to S.K. Funds for J.D. were received from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AEI/ MINECO/FEDER,UE) through grants BFU2016–80039-R and Unidad de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu funded by the MINECO (ref: MDM-2014–0370), and by a 2017 SGR 909 grant by the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Cataluny

Low zinc levels at admission associates with poor clinical outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background: Zinc is an essential micronutrient that impacts host-pathogen interplay at infection. Zinc balances immune responses, and also has a proven direct antiviral action against some viruses. Importantly, zinc deficiency (ZD) is a common condition in elderly and individuals with chronic diseases, two groups with an increased risk for severe severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. We hypothesize that serum zinc content (SZC) influences COVID-19 disease progression, and thus might represent a useful biomarker. Methods: We ran an observational cohort study with 249 COVID-19 patients admitted in Hospital del Mar. We have studied COVID-19 severity and progression attending to SZC at admission. In parallel, we have studied severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) replication in the Vero E6 cell line modifying zinc concentrations. Findings: Our study demonstrates a correlation between serum zinc levels and COVID-19 outcome. Serum zinc levels lower than 50 µg/dL at admission correlated with worse clinical presentation, longer time to reach stability, and higher mortality. Our in vitro results indicate that low zinc levels favor viral expansion in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells. Interpretation: Low SZC is a risk factor that determines COVID-19 outcome. We encourage performing randomized clinical trials to study zinc supplementation as potential prophylaxis and treatment with people at risk of zinc deficiency.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, through grants PID2019-106755RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 to R.V. and PID2019-106959RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 to J.D.; an institutional “Maria de Maeztu” Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D (CEX2018-000792-M) to R.V. and J.D.; and by the 2017 SGR 909 grant from the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Catalunya to J.D. R.G.-F. received support and funding from Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBERFES) (grant number CB16/10/00245), FEDER funds, and the FIS Project from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant number (PI19/00019)