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Updated: Jul 18, 2025

RhoC GTPase Activation Assay
Published on: August 22, 2010
Vaccinia virus induces EMT-like transformation and RhoA-mediated mesenchymal migration
Wei Liu1, Jia-Yin Lu1, Ya-Jun Wang1
1Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Shanghai Stomatological Hospital, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
The emerging outbreak of monkeypox is closely associated with the viral infection and spreading, threatening global public health. Virus-induced cell migration facilitates viral transmission. However, the mechanism underlying this type of cell migration remains unclear. Here we investigate the motility of cells infected by vaccinia virus (VACV), a close relative of monkeypox, through combining multi-omics analyses and high-resolution live-cell imaging. We find that, upon VACV infection, the epithelial cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like transformation, during which they lose intercellular junctions and acquire the migratory capacity to promote viral spreading. After transformation, VACV-hijacked RhoA signaling significantly alters cellular morphology and rearranges the actin cytoskeleton involving the depolymerization of robust actin stress fibers, leading-edge protrusion formation, and the rear-edge recontraction, which coordinates VACV-induced cell migration. Our study reveals how poxviruses alter the epithelial phenotype and regulate RhoA signaling to induce fast migration, providing a unique perspective to understand the pathogenesis of poxviruses.
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