Englander Institute for Precision Medicine

Elevated A-to-I RNA editing in COVID-19 infected individuals.

TitleElevated A-to-I RNA editing in COVID-19 infected individuals.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsMerdler-Rabinowicz R, Gorelik D, Park J, Meydan C, Foox J, Karmon M, Roth HS, Cohen-Fultheim R, Shohat-Ophir G, Eisenberg E, Ruppin E, Mason CE, Levanon EY
JournalNAR Genom Bioinform
Volume5
Issue4
Paginationlqad092
Date Published2023 Dec
ISSN2631-9268
Abstract

Given the current status of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic, it is of high priority to gain a deeper understanding of the disease's development and how the virus impacts its host. Adenosine (A)-to-Inosine (I) RNA editing is a post-transcriptional modification, catalyzed by the ADAR family of enzymes, that can be considered part of the inherent cellular defense mechanism as it affects the innate immune response in a complex manner. It was previously reported that various viruses could interact with the host's ADAR enzymes, resulting in epigenetic changes both to the virus and the host. Here, we analyze RNA-seq of nasopharyngeal swab specimens as well as whole-blood samples of COVID-19 infected individuals and show a significant elevation in the global RNA editing activity in COVID-19 compared to healthy controls. We also detect specific coding sites that exhibit higher editing activity. We further show that the increment in editing activity during the disease is temporary and returns to baseline shortly after the symptomatic period. These significant epigenetic changes may contribute to the immune system response and affect adverse outcomes seen in post-viral cases.

DOI10.1093/nargab/lqad092
Alternate JournalNAR Genom Bioinform
PubMed ID37859800
PubMed Central IDPMC10583280
Grant ListU01 DA053941 / DA / NIDA NIH HHS / United States

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