RNAスプライシング制御によるCOVID-19重症化リスク低減~遺伝的脆弱性を緩和する薬剤候補の同定~

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2025-03-04 京都大学

京都大学の研究グループは、COVID-19の重症化リスクに関連する遺伝的要因として、2′-5′-オリゴアデニル酸合成酵素1(OAS1)遺伝子のスプライシング変異に着目し、RNAスプライシングを制御する化合物を用いることで、新型コロナウイルスのヒト細胞への感染を低減できることを示しました。この成果は、COVID-19に対する遺伝的脆弱性を持つ人々への新たな治療法の可能性を示唆しています。研究成果は、2025年3月3日に国際学術誌「BMC Biology」に掲載されました。

<関連情報>

OAS1スプライシングアイソフォームの切り替えがSNP由来のSARS-CoV-2感染に対する脆弱性を克服する Switching of OAS1 splicing isoforms overcomes SNP-derived vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Kei Iida,Masahiko Ajiro,Akiko Nakano-Kobayashi,Yukiko Muramoto,Toru Takenaga,Masatsugu Denawa,Ryo Kurosawa,Takeshi Noda & Masatoshi Hagiwara
BMC Biology  Published:03 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02173-3

RNAスプライシング制御によるCOVID-19重症化リスク低減~遺伝的脆弱性を緩和する薬剤候補の同定~

Abstract

Background
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic provided important insights into the relationship between infectious diseases and the human genome. A genomic region encoding the 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) family proteins that sense viral genomic RNAs and trigger an antiviral response contains single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility. A high-risk SNP identified at the splice acceptor site of OAS1 exon 6—a terminal exon—alters the proportion of various splicing isoforms of OAS1 and its activity. However, the actual causality of this SNP or splicing to infection susceptibility remains unknown.

Results
In this study, it was found that serine–arginine-rich splicing factor 6 (SRSF6) binds to the splice donor site of the human OAS1 exon 5. SRSF6 determines the selected alternative terminal exon when the risk allele disrupts the splice acceptor site. Subsequently, an inhibitor for CDC-like kinase was rationally selected as a candidate splicing modulator. RNA-Seq and RT-PCR analyses revealed that this inhibitor can induce splice switching of OAS1 mRNAs in the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line Calu-3. Under the inhibitor treatment, the cells exhibited reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection rates. Meanwhile, the colonic epithelial cell line Caco-2 expressed non-risk type OAS1 mRNA isoforms that did not undergo splice-switching or demonstrate altered SARS-CoV-2 sensitivity following treatment with the inhibitor.

Conclusions
These results indicate that a high-risk SNP in OAS1 influences cell susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection by inducing splice-switching at its terminal exon. Additionally, chemical splicing modifiers may prove beneficial in overcoming this genomic vulnerability.

医療・健康
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