Activation of the STAT3 Signaling Pathway by the RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Protein of Arenavirus

Viruses

Weijuan Shang¹  Weiwei Wan¹  Qingxing Wang¹  Lei-Ke Zhang¹  Gengfu Xiao¹  Qilin Xin² 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, China;UMR754, Viral Infections and Comparative Pathology, 50 Avenue Tony Garnier, CEDEX 07, 69366 Lyon, France;

关键词: arenavirus;    LCMV;    STAT3;    RNA-dependent RNA polymerase;    virus–host interactions;   

DOI  :  10.3390/v13060976

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Arenaviruses cause chronic and asymptomatic infections in their natural host, rodents, and several arenaviruses cause severe hemorrhagic fever that has a high mortality in infected humans, seriously threatening public health. There are currently no FDA-licensed drugs available against arenaviruses; therefore, it is important to develop novel antiviral strategies to combat them, which would be facilitated by a detailed understanding of the interactions between the viruses and their hosts. To this end, we performed a transcriptomic analysis on cells infected with arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), a neglected human pathogen with clinical significance, and found that the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway was activated. A further investigation indicated that STAT3 could be activated by the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase L protein (Lp) of LCMV. Our functional analysis found that STAT3 cannot affect LCMV multiplication in A549 cells. We also found that STAT3 was activated by the Lp of Mopeia virus and Junin virus, suggesting that this activation may be conserved across certain arenaviruses. Our study explored the interactions between arenaviruses and STAT3, which may help us to better understand the molecular and cell biology of arenaviruses.

【 授权许可】

Unknown