Studying the virome in psychiatric disease

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Microbiome Research
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Current microbiome studies often overlook the significant role of viruses in human health.
• Existing laboratory and analytical methods for studying viral communities in clinical samples are rudimentary and require improvement.
• A comprehensive understanding of the human virome is essential for advancing diagnostics and therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate Virobiome-Seq, a novel sequence capture method and bioinformatics pipeline for comprehensive viral identification in human samples.
• To assess the capability of Virobiome-Seq in detecting diverse viral types, including novel subtypes and RNA transcripts from DNA viruses.
• To explore the potential of Virobiome-Seq in investigating the association between viral genotypes and psychiatric disorders.

Main Methods:

• Development of Virobiome-Seq, a sequence capture technique coupled with a bioinformatics pipeline.
• Application of Virobiome-Seq to analyze Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, plasma, and stool samples from individuals with psychiatric disorders.
• Detection and sequencing of viral reads within the collected human samples.

Main Results:

• Virobiome-Seq successfully enriched for and detected multiple known virus types (e.g., HIV1, Torque Teno, Herpes, Papilloma) and novel viral subtypes.
• The method detected RNA transcripts from DNA viruses, suggesting potential for assessing in vivo viral activity.
• Sequencing data enabled the identification of viral genotypes, revealing numerous novel circular RNA viruses, though contamination sources require further investigation.

Conclusions:

• Virobiome-Seq represents a significant advancement in analyzing the human virome, offering enhanced sensitivity and scope compared to existing methods.
• The study highlights the incompleteness of current knowledge regarding viral diversity and the potential for novel virus discovery.
• Virobiome-Seq holds promise for uncovering complex interactions between viral activity and diseases, particularly psychiatric disorders.