病毒蛋白质组学: 病毒学研究前沿

病毒寄生于宿主细胞中, 需要不断地适应和改变宿主的环境. 它们能够编码多种多功能蛋白质, 这些蛋白能与宿主蛋白发生一系列的相互作用以完成病毒的各种功能. 迄今, 尽管许多病毒的基因组已测序完成, 但由于受到病毒影响而发生相应改变的宿主蛋白组、宿主蛋白翻译后修饰, 以及蛋白酶剪接过程还未被完全阐明. 近年来新兴的高通量技术, 如基于质谱技术的定量或半定量蛋白组方法, 已被广泛应用于病毒宿主相互作用的研究中, 且有望在上述领域取得突破性进展. 本综述主要探讨蛋白质组学研究中的病毒颗粒蛋白质组学, 病毒结构蛋白质组学和病毒影响的宿主蛋白质组学等病毒蛋白质组学中的前沿领域.     

microRNA与病毒感染

microRNA是一类新近发现的由20-23个核苷酸构成的非编码RNA分子,它在生命进程中起着重要作用.病毒的复制和繁殖依赖于宿主细胞,而且对细胞环境的变化敏感.研究表明宿主和病毒都可以编码microRNA,病毒可通过小RNA介导的干扰作用影响宿主细胞,也能利用自身的"独特战略"改变宿主细胞从而满足自己生存的需求,所以,宿主与病毒间存在microRNA-mRNA相互作用的机制.尽管时microRNA与病毒感染的关系研究时间不长,但目前的研究结果为我们理解病毒和宿主之间的相互作用提供了一条途径,并为寻找病毒感染的生物标志物和治疗方法提供了新的思路.     

微小RNA在病毒与宿主相互作用中的功能

微小RNA(microRNA，miRNA)是一类长度为22个核苷酸左右的内源性非编码小RNA分子。自1993年最先从秀丽隐杆线虫体内发现miRNA以来，目前为止已有35 000多条miRNA在植物、动物及病毒中被发现。它们作为重要的转录调控因子，参与细胞分化、凋亡、代谢、信号转导、免疫等多种生物学过程。病毒和宿主细胞均可编码miRNA，病毒编码的miRNA可改变宿主内环境，而宿主编码的miRNA则可影响病毒生存。本文就miRNA对病毒与宿主相互作用的调控进行综述。     

病毒-宿主蛋白相互作用组学研究进展

病毒和宿主之间的蛋白相互作用贯穿其整个生命周期.对病毒-宿主蛋白相互作用组的研究不仅可以阐明病毒的感染过程和机体的防御机制,而且还可以揭示潜在的抗病毒治疗靶点.本文回顾了病毒-宿主蛋白相互作用组学常用的研究方法,并探讨了每种方法的优点及局限性.     

蛋白质组学在病毒学研究中的应用

病毒入侵宿主细胞后,导致宿主产生一系列复杂的变化。探索病毒-宿主的相互作用为预防和治疗病毒感染的研究提供重要线索。近年来,以质谱（Mass spectrometry, MS）为核心的蛋白质组学已经为病毒学的发展做出了巨大贡献。新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）、猴痘病毒（Monkeypox virus, MPXV）以及其它病毒的出现,使得对病毒蛋白质的分子功能及感染后宿主蛋白质组的深入探索更加迫切。本文综述了应用不同蛋白质组学方法来阐明病毒蛋白质的组成、病毒-宿主蛋白质相互作用、宿主蛋白质组的改变以及感染诱导的翻译后调控方面的现状。并讨论蛋白质组学与其他组学联用的策略,总结了蛋白质组学的限制和优势,为寻找病毒感染生物标志物、抗病毒药物靶点提供新的思路。     

杆状病毒与昆虫宿主相互作用的研究进展

杆状病毒与昆虫宿主相互作用是一种基本的分子和生态问题, 不仅在农业上, 而且在真核表达系统、 基因治疗、 蛋白表面展示 系统以及基因工程疫苗等方面都有重要的实际应用。杆状病毒还是一种很有潜力的病毒杀虫剂, 而且对环境来说是安全的。研究这些相互 作用也产生了许多重要和有价值的发现。杆状病毒生命循环中存在两种不同形式的病毒, 即包埋型病毒粒子(occlusion derived virus, ODV) 和出芽型病毒粒子(budded virus, BV)。ODV包裹于多角体中, 主要负责宿主的原发感染; 而BV由感染的宿主细胞释放后引发继发 感染。病毒侵染起始于敏感的昆虫宿主食用了污染包涵体病毒的植物。在宿主中肠的碱性环境中, 多角体溶解释放ODV, ODV与宿主肠道 柱状上皮细胞细胞膜融合, 通过内吞体进入细胞。之后核衣壳从内吞体中逃脱并被转运到细胞核。病毒转录和复制在细胞核进行, 新生 的BV粒子从基底膜出芽引起全身感染。杆状病毒与宿主细胞相互作用包括从病毒结合和进入时的相互作用, 到宿主基因表达调节, 以及 修饰与调节细胞和机体所发生的生理和防御的相互作用的复杂和微妙的机制。本文主要以杆状病毒侵染昆虫宿主的过程为线索, 总结和评 述了杆状病毒与昆虫宿主相互作用方面研究的最新进展, 特别是杆状病毒基因在病毒入侵过程中所起的作用。     

水产动物的病毒基因组及其病毒与宿主的相互作用

水产养殖是近30年来世界上增长最快的农业生产方式,但病毒已成为严重威胁水产养殖可持续发展的传染性病原.近10年来,已从水产动物中鉴定出大量不同的病原病毒,解析了100多株水产动物病毒的基因组及其遗传特征,并开始对这些病毒与宿主的相互作用有了系统和深入的认识.本文在作者20多年研究积累的基础上,重点评述水产动物的重要病毒如虹彩病毒、疱疹病毒、呼肠孤病毒和弹状病毒的基因组遗传信息特征以及这些病毒-宿主相互作用的研究进展.     

小RNA病毒受体的研究进展

病毒与宿主间的相互作用位点为病毒感染细胞提供可能性,位于宿主细胞上的结合位点称作受体。目前在宿主细胞的免疫球蛋白超家族、低密度脂蛋白受体家族、补体家族和整联蛋白细胞粘附分子家族等中陆续发现了小RNA病毒的受体。了解各个受体的利用情况,对理解病毒感染机制、宿主嗜性和抗病毒机理有重要意义。本文主要就已证实的小RNA病毒受体进行分类概述,以期为深入研究小RNA病毒的致病机理及其防控提供参考。     

细胞周期蛋白依赖性蛋白激酶2在单纯疱疹病毒复制中的作用

细胞周期蛋白依赖性蛋白激酶(CDK)与单纯疱疹病毒(HSV)等多种重要人类疾病病毒的复制密切相关.但具体哪种CDK是病毒复制所必需的还不清楚.本文用不同剂量的HSV-1-KOS株(以下简称HSV)感染CDK2功能缺陷型宿主细胞,结果发现HSV在CDK2功能缺陷型宿主细胞中的复制具有感染剂量依赖性;一步生长曲线分析结果表明其在CDK2功能缺陷型宿主细胞中的复制较在正常细胞延迟3h;感染6h时CDK2活性被诱导,9h时活性最大;CDK2活性增加后HSV-1即进入快速的裂解性复制.提示CDK2可能在HSV复制的启动中起着某种重要作用.     

EBV编码miRNAs在病毒感染和肿瘤发生中的功能和意义

EB病毒(Epstein-Barr virus,EBV)是一种172 kb大小的线性双链DNA病毒,与鼻咽癌、淋巴瘤、胃癌等恶性肿瘤的发生密切相关. EBV编码的微小RNAs (miRNAs)可以调节病毒和宿主细胞基因的表达,并且在癌症发生发展中起着多种作用.本文综述了EBV编码的miRNAs (EBV-encoded miRNA,EBV miRNAs)在病毒感染和肿瘤发生、侵袭转移、抗凋亡、信号通路等方面的生物学功能,以及对于EBV相关肿瘤诊断标志物的潜在意义. EB病毒编码的miRNAs也可能成为进一步研究EBV相关肿瘤治疗的一个候选靶点.     

病毒编码的miRNA:基因表达新的调控因子

微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)是一类长约22个核苷酸的RNA,在数量、序列、结构、表达和功能上具有多样性。目前,通过生物信息学手段和分子克隆方法,已发现了3518种miRNA,在控制细胞的生长发育、分化、凋亡等过程中发挥着十分重要的作用。最近研究发现疱疹病毒、多瘤病毒、逆转录病毒的某些病毒基因组也能够编码miRNA,这些miRNA在调控病毒基因自身表达以及病毒与宿主相互作用方面可能起重要的作用。某些病毒甚至能够利用宿主体内的miRNA调控其自身表达。找出病毒可能编码的miRNA,探索其对病毒感染、复制、表达的作用,有助于病毒分子生物学的研究,也会为研发防治病毒的新方法和新途径提供新的思路。     

Functional similarity analysis of human virus-encoded miRNAs

miRNAs are a class of small RNAs that regulate gene expression via RNA silencing machinery. Some viruses also encode miRNAs, contributing to the complex virus-host interactions. A better understanding of viral miRNA functions would be useful in designing new preventive strategies for treating diseases induced by viruses. To meet the challenge for how viruses module host gene expression by their encoded miRNAs, we measured the functional similarities among human viral miRNAs by using a method we reported previously. Higher order functions regulated by viral miRNAs were also identified by KEGG pathway analysis on their targets. Our study demonstrated the biological processes involved in virus-host interactions via viral miRNAs. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that viral miRNAs have distinct evolution rates compared with their corresponding genome.     

Expression analysis of phytohormone-regulated microRNAs in rice, implying their regulation roles in plant hormone signaling

Twenty-two conserved miRNAs were chosen to investigate the expression pattern in response to phytohormone treatments, in which the effects of five classic plant hormone stresses were surveyed in Oryza sativa. The results showed that 11 miRNAs were found to be dysregulated by one or more phytohormone treatments. The target genes of these miRNAs were validated in vivo and their expression profiling were revealed. We also analyzed the promoter regions of the 22 conserved miRNAs for phytohormone-responsive elements and the existence of the elements provided further evidences supporting our results. These findings enable us to further investigate the role of miRNAs in phytohormone signaling.     

Epigenetic alteration of microRNAs in DNMT3B-mutated patients of ICF syndrome

Immunodeficiency, Centromeric region instability, Facial anomalies (ICF; OMIM #242860) syndrome, due to mutations in the DNMT3B gene, is characterized by inheritance of aberrant patterns of DNA methylation and heterochromatin defects. Patients show variable agammaglobulinemia and a reduced number of T cells, making them prone to infections and death before adulthood. Other variable symptoms include facial dysmorphism, growth and mental retardation. Despite the recent advances in identifying the dysregulated genes, the molecular mechanisms, which underlie the altered gene expression causing ICF phenotype complexity, are not well understood. Held the recently-shown tight correlation between epigenetics and microRNAs (miRNAs), we searched for miRNAs regulated by DNMT3B activity, comparing cell lines from ICF patients with those from healthy individuals. We observe that eighty-nine miRNAs, some of which involved in immune function, development and neurogenesis, are dysregulated in ICF (LCLs) compared to wild-type cells. Significant DNA hypomethylation of miRNA CpG islands was not observed in cases of miRNA up-regulation in ICF cells, suggesting a more subtle effect of DNMT3B deficiency on their regulation; however, a modification of histone marks, especially H3K27 and H3K4 trimethylation, and H4 acetylation, was observed concomitantly with changes in microRNA expression. Functional correlation between miRNA and mRNA expression of their targets allow us to suppose a regulation either at mRNA level or at protein level. These results provide a better understanding of how DNA methylation and histone code interact to regulate the class of microRNA genes and enable us to predict molecular events possibly contributing to ICF condition.     

Cellular versus viral microRNAs in host–virus interaction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) mark a new paradigm of RNA-directed gene expression regulation in a wide spectrum of biological systems. These small non-coding RNAs can contribute to the repertoire of host-pathogen interactions during viral infection. This interplay has important consequences, both for the virus and the host. There have been reported evidences of host-cellular miRNAs modulating the expression of various viral genes, thereby playing a pivotal role in the host–pathogen interaction network. In the hide-and-seek game between the pathogens and the infected host, viruses have evolved highly sophisticated gene-silencing mechanisms to evade host-immune response. Recent reports indicate that virus too encode miRNAs that protect them against cellular antiviral response. Furthermore, they may exploit the cellular miRNA pathway to their own advantage. Nevertheless, our increasing knowledge of the host–virus interaction at the molecular level should lead us toward possible explanations to viral tropism, latency and oncogenesis along with the development of an effective, durable and nontoxic antiviral therapy. Here, we summarize the recent updates on miRNA-induced gene-silencing mechanism, modulating host–virus interactions with a glimpse of the miRNA-based antiviral therapy for near future.     

Analysis of Glioblastoma Patients' Plasma Revealed the Presence of MicroRNAs with a Prognostic Impact on Survival and Those of Viral Origin

BackgroundGlioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is among the most aggressive cancers with a poor prognosis in spite of a plethora of established diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and treatment modalities. Therefore, the current goal is the detection of novel biomarkers, possibly detectable in the blood of GBM patients that may enable an early diagnosis and are potential therapeutic targets, leading to more efficient interventions.ResultsWe identified 19 miRNAs with significantly different plasma levels in GBM patients, compared to the healthy individuals group with the difference limited by a factor of 2. Additionally, 11 viral miRNAs were found differentially expressed in plasma of GBM patients and 24 miRNA levels significantly correlated with the patients’ survival. Moreover, the overlap between the group of candidate miRNAs for diagnostic biomarkers and the group of miRNAs associated with survival, consisted of ten miRNAs, showing both diagnostic and prognostic potential. Among them, hsa miR 592 and hsa miR 514a 3p have not been previously described in GBM and represent novel candidates for selective biomarkers. The possible signalling, induced by the revealed miRNAs is discussed, including those of viral origin, and in particular those related to the impaired immune response in the progression of GBM.ConclusionThe GBM burden is reflected in the alteration of the plasma miRNAs pattern, including viral miRNAs, representing the potential for future clinical application. Therefore proposed biomarker candidate miRNAs should be validated in a larger study of an independent cohort of patients.