Background
Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infects millions of children every year in China and has become a challenge to public health. However, there is no effective treatment for EV71 infection. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play various roles in virus replication and infection.
Conclusion
These results suggest a novel mechanism by which EV71 evades the IFN-mediated host antiviral response by increasing lncRNA-AK097647 expression.
Methods
To assess the role of lncRNA-AK097647 during EV71 infection, siRNAs were used to silence lncRNA-K097647 expression. RT-qPCR assay and Western blotting were applied to measure the mRNA and protein levels of EV71 VP1 and the phosphorylation of NF-κB. ELISA was used to detect the level of IFN-λ1 expression.
Objective
We aimed to explore the role of a novel long noncoding RNA AK097647 (lncRNA-AK097647) during EV71 infection.
Results
The novel lncRNA-AK097647 was upregulated in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells and the blood of hand, foot, and mouth disease patients infected with EV71, as demonstrated by RT-qPCR. Interestingly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of lncRNA-AK097647 dramatically increased the level of IFN-λ1 expression, resulting in the suppression of EV71 replication. In contrast, overexpression of lncRNA-AK097647 decreased the level of IFN-λ1 expression and resulted in increased EV71 replication. In addition, we found that lncRNA-AK097647 could inhibit the phosphorylation of NF-κB.