Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Functional Imaging of Viral Transcription Factories Using 3D Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: January 18, 2018
m6A Regulates the Stability of Cellular Transcripts Required for Efficient KSHV Lytic Replication
Oliver Manners1, Belinda Baquero-Perez2, Timothy J Mottram1
1School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Astbury Centre of Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
Abstract:
The epitranscriptomic modification N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a ubiquitous feature of the mammalian transcriptome. It modulates mRNA fate and dynamics to exert regulatory control over numerous cellular processes and disease pathways, including viral infection. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) reactivation from the latent phase leads to the redistribution of m6A topology upon both viral and cellular mRNAs within infected cells. Here we investigate the role of m6A in cellular transcripts upregulated during KSHV lytic replication. Our results show that m6A is crucial for the stability of the GPRC5A mRNA, whose expression is induced by the KSHV latent-lytic switch master regulator, the replication and transcription activator (RTA) protein. Moreover, we demonstrate that GPRC5A is essential for efficient KSHV lytic replication by directly regulating NFκB signalling. Overall, this work highlights the central importance of m6A in modulating cellular gene expression to influence viral infection.
Related Concept Videos
RNA Stability
mRNA Stability and Gene Expression
Cis-acting Elements involved in mRNA stability
Abnormal Proliferation
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Chromatin Structure Regulates pre-mRNA Processing
The chromatin structure, especially...

