title: Silencing of neurotropic flavivirus replication in the central nervous system by combining multiple microRNA target insertions in two distinct viral genome regions.
abstract: In recent years, microRNA-targeting has become an effective strategy for selective control of tissue-tropism and pathogenesis of both DNA and RNA viruses. Here, using a neurotropic flavivirus as a model, we demonstrate that simultaneous miRNA targeting of the viral genome in the open reading frame and 3'-noncoding regions for brain-expressed miRNAs had an additive effect and produced a more potent attenuation of the virus compared to separate targeting of those regions. Multiple miRNA co-targeting of these two distantly located regions completely abolished the virus neurotropism as no viral replication was detected in the developing brain of neonatal mice. Furthermore, no viral antigens were detected in neurons, and neuronal integrity in the brain of mice was well preserved. This miRNA co-targeting approach can be adapted for other viruses in order to minimize their replication in a cell- or tissue-type specific manner, but most importantly, to prevent virus escape from miRNA-mediated silencing.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States.
authors.forename: Natalya L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Teterina
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States.
authors.forename: Guangping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States.
authors.forename: Olga A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Maximova
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States. Electronic address: apletnev@niaid.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Pletnev
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005416:Flavivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D018177:Flavivirus Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D016679:Genome, Viral; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D056189:Viral Tropism; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Flavivirus; Micrornas; Neuropathogenesis