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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Identifying Caspases and their Motifs that Cleave Proteins During Influenza A Virus Infection
Published on: July 21, 2022
Influenza Virus NS1 Protein-RNA Interactome Reveals Intron Targeting
Liang Zhang1, Juan Wang2, Raquel Muñoz-Moreno3,4
1State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China lzhangxmu@xmu.edu.cn beatriz.fontoura@utsouthwestern.edu.
The influenza A virus NS1 protein binds intronic sequences in cellular RNAs, including RIG-I pre-mRNA. This interaction impairs RIG-I intron removal, suggesting a posttranscriptional mechanism for NS1 to inhibit antiviral responses.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- The NS1 protein of influenza A virus is a key virulence factor.
- NS1 inhibits cellular processes and interacts with RNA and proteins.
- A systematic understanding of the NS1-RNA interactome is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify cellular RNAs that physically interact with the NS1 protein.
- To investigate the role of NS1-RNA interactions in viral virulence and host response.
- To elucidate the posttranscriptional mechanisms of NS1-mediated immune evasion.
Main Methods:
- RNA sequencing to identify the NS1 protein-RNA interactome.
- Analysis of NS1 binding to intronic sequences.
- Assays to measure RIG-I intron removal rates.
- Functional studies involving NS1 transfection and viral infection.
Main Results:
- NS1 primarily binds to intronic sequences of cellular pre-mRNAs.
- RIG-I pre-mRNA is a target of NS1 binding.
- NS1 inhibits the removal of introns from RIG-I pre-mRNA.
- This function requires the NS1 RNA binding domain and is independent of CPSF30 interaction.
Conclusions:
- NS1 interacts with a specific set of intronic sequences, including RIG-I pre-mRNA.
- NS1 interferes with the antiviral response by posttranscriptionally altering RIG-I pre-mRNA processing.
- This represents a novel mechanism of immune evasion by influenza A virus.
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