# Elucidating the functional roles of long noncoding RNAs in Chikungunya virus infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $243,000

## Abstract

Summary
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging arthropod-borne virus for which there are no vaccines or
therapeutics. Infection with CHIKV can lead to severe and chronic arthralgia. CHIKV displays wide tropism
targeting the epithelial, endothelial, and myeloid compartments. The innate immune system is the first line of
defense. Viral nucleic acids are sensed, leading to the activation of classical type I interferons (IFN) which
induces hundreds of interferon stimulate genes (ISGs). In response, viruses including CHIKV, encode
antagonists of interferon signaling to attenuate these antiviral activities. In addition, there is a growing list of
basally expressed, effector proteins known as intrinsic factors, which play roles in controlling infection.
Altogether, it is clear that there are additional antiviral regulators that play important roles in controlling infection,
and in particular, there is less known about antiviral responses in non-hematopoietic cells which are the major
targets of CHIKV. Moreover, while much of our understanding of antiviral effectors has been focused on antiviral
proteins, there is an emerging literature that suggests that noncoding (nc)RNAs can also play an important role
in controlling infection. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an emerging and abundant subclass of ncRNAs
that are known to dynamically regulate transcription and translation and can control innate immune responses.
The contribution of lncRNAs to innate defense downstream of viral infection is poorly understood, and there is
nothing known during CHIKV infection. We hypothesize that lncRNAs play a regulatory role in the control of
innate antiviral immunity against CHIKV. Therefore, we will characterize the role of lncRNAs in the innate immune
response to CHIKV infection. We are beginning our studies in endothelial cells, as these are a target during
infection and little is known about antiviral defenses in this tissue. In addition, we are particularly interested in
cytoplasmic lncRNAs as there is less known about their functions, and CHIKV replication occurs exclusively in
the cytoplasm. To achieve these goals, our specific aims will (1) Characterize lncRNAs that control CHIKV
infection and (2) define the mechanism of action of one antiviral lncRNA we have validated (chikvLNC)

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9957379
- **Project number:** 1R21AI151882-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Cherry
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $243,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-03 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9957379

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9957379, Elucidating the functional roles of long noncoding RNAs in Chikungunya virus infection (1R21AI151882-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9957379. Licensed CC0.

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