Epigenetic Landscape during Coronavirus Infection.

Area of Science:

• Virology and Epigenetics
• Molecular Biology
• Immunology

Background:

• Coronaviruses (CoV), including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, are significant human and animal pathogens.
• Viral pathogenesis involves complex virus-host interactions affecting entry, replication, egress, and immune control.
• Epigenetics studies how factors alter gene expression without changing DNA sequence, involving modifications like histone alterations and DNA methylation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the intricate mechanisms by which viruses, particularly pathogenic respiratory RNA viruses, regulate the host epigenome.
• To understand how viruses control host innate immune responses to promote replication and pathogenesis.
• To define novel viral antagonism mechanisms in emerging coronavirus infections.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing strategies for evaluating viral regulation of the host epigenome.
• Focusing on highly pathogenic respiratory RNA virus infections as a model system.
• Integrating epigenome reorganization data with RNA and proteomic datasets.

Main Results:

• Viruses have evolved sophisticated processes to regulate the host epigenome and innate immune defenses.
• A spatial-temporal data integration approach was developed to analyze complex datasets.
• This approach identifies key genomic regions involved in the host's innate immune response.

Conclusions:

• Viruses actively manipulate host epigenetics to evade immune responses and enhance replication.
• Understanding these epigenetic regulatory mechanisms is crucial for developing new antiviral strategies.
• This research defines a new paradigm of viral antagonism in emerging coronavirus infections.