Viral lncRNA: A regulatory molecule for controlling virus life cycle

Wang, Ziqiang; Zhao, Yiwan; Zhang, Yaou

In addition to the RNAi pathway, antiviral substances, such as interferons (IFNs), can be triggered by the presence of certain viruses. The roles of these antiviral substances are to protect adjacent cells from infection and activate T cell-mediated immunity by initiating apoptosis and autophagy [55, 56] . To dissect the mechanism by which viruses perturb the IFN signaling pathway, Schuessler A et al. showed that sfRNA derived from West Nile virus contributed to viral evasion of the type I interferon-mediated antiviral response by blunting the increase in IFN expression provoked by viral infection [57] . Furthermore, another study showed that sfRNA played a role against host cell antiviral responses by preventing the cells from undergoing apoptosis and thus contributed to viral persistence by obstructing interferon production, nuclear translocation and IRF-3 activation, which is a key factor in the induction of early antiviral responses [58] . These effects of sfRNA may protect latently infected host cells from the anti-viral action of IFNs.