Integrated transcriptome profiling in THP-1 macrophages infected with bunyavirus SFTSV

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne bunyavirus that causes an emerging hemorrhagic fever termed SFTS with high mortality. However, knowledge of SFTSV-host interactions is largely limited. Here, we performed a global transcriptome analysis of mRNAs and lncRNAs in THP-1 macrophages infected with SFTSV for 24 and 48 h. A total of 2,334 differentially expressed mRNAs and 154 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified with 577 mRNAs and 31 lncRNAs commonly changed at both time points. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed that differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly associated with innate immune, cytokine signaling, systemic lupus erythematosus, and alcoholism. Differentially expressed lncRNAs were enriched in systemic lupus erythematosus, alcoholism, and ribosome. Bioinformatic analysis also revealed hub regulatory mRNAs including IL6, TNF, UBA52, SRC, IL10, CXCL10, and CDK1 and core regulatory lncRNAs including XLOC_083027 and XLOC_113317. Transcription factor analysis of the differentially expressed mRNAs revealed that IRF1, SPI1, SPIB, ELF5, and FEV were enriched during SFTSV infection. Taken together, our studies illustrate the complex interaction between THP-1 macrophages and SFTSV.