The novel lncRNA ALPHA specifically targets chikungunya virus to control infection

We set out to determine whether lncRNAs can contribute to additional antiviral immune strategies independently of canonical innate signaling. High-throughput genetic screening of 2200 human lncRNAs led to the identification of the cytoplasmic antiviral lncRNA Antiviral LncRNA Prohibiting Human Alphaviruses (ALPHA) which is transcriptionally induced by alphaviruses and functions independently of IFN to specifically inhibit the replication of CHIKV and its closest relative, O’nyong’nyong virus (ONNV), but not other viruses. Furthermore, we showed that ALPHA interacts with CHIKV genomic RNA and restrains viral RNA replication. Together, our findings reveal that ALPHA and potentially other lncRNAs can mediate non-canonical antiviral immune responses against specific viral pathogens. RNA sequencing from human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) in the presence and absence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) or the phylogenetically disparate arbovirus, Zika virus (ZIKV)