Identification of Host-derived Circular RNAs that Display Pro- and Anti-Viral Activities in Flavivirus-Infected Cells

Viruses subvert macromolecular pathways in the infected host to aid in viral gene amplification or to counteract innate immune responses. Recently, roles for host-encoded non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs, have been found to encode pro- and anti-viral functions. One class of non-coding RNAs are circular RNAs that are generated by a nuclear back-splicing mechanism of pre-mRNAs. This study examines the circular RNA landscape in uninfected and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected liver cells. Results showed that the abundances of distinct classes of circular RNAs were up-regulated or down-regulated in infected cells. Identified circular RNAs displayed both pro- and anti-viral effects. Total RNA sequencing analyses of Huh7 hepatoma cells that were either HCV-infected (triplicates) or mock-infected (9 replicates) for 48 hours.