The Splicing Factor Proline-Glutamine Rich (SFPQ/PSF) Is Involved in Influenza Virus Transcription

Authors Summary The influenza A viruses cause annual epidemics and occasional pandemics of respiratory infections that may be life threatening. The viral genome contains 8 RNA molecules forming ribonucleoproteins that replicate and transcribe in the nucleus of infected cells. Influenza viruses are intracellular parasites that need the host cell machinery to replicate. To better understand this virus-cell interplay we purified the viral RNA polymerase expressed in human cells and identified several specifically associated cellular proteins. Here we characterise the role of one of them, the proline-glutamine rich splicing factor (SFPQ/PSF). Down-regulation of SFPQ/PSF indicated that it is essential for virus multiplication. Specifically, the accumulation of messenger and genomic virus-specific RNAs was reduced by SFPQ/PSF silencing in infected cells. Furthermore, transcription of parental ribonucleoproteins was affected by SFPQ/PSF down-regulation. The consequences of silencing SFPQ/PSF on the transcription and

Nov 17, 2011 ... ... Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain, CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias, ISCIII, Bunyola, Mallorca, Spain. ⨯. Maite Pérez-Cidoncha,.

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