Single-cell RNA-sequencing of Herpes simplex virus 1-infected cells identifies NRF2 activation as an antiviral program

We describe the viral gene expression cascade at the single-cell level, showing bifurcations and bottleneck states. Host gene expression changes are related to viral transcription. The role of cellular signaling pathways in infection is studied using trajectory analysis and the importance of the Nrf2 transcription factor studied in follow-up experiments. Human primary fibroblasts were infected with HSV-1 and single-cell RNA-sequencing was performed at different early time points after infection.

本数据集在单细胞分辨率下解析了病毒基因表达级联反应，揭示了其分支过程与瓶颈状态。宿主基因表达的变化与病毒转录进程紧密关联。本研究通过轨迹分析探究了细胞信号通路在病毒感染中的作用，并通过后续实验验证了核因子红细胞2相关因子2（Nrf2）转录因子的关键功能。实验采用感染1型单纯疱疹病毒（HSV-1）的人原代成纤维细胞，并在感染后的多个早期时间点开展了单细胞RNA测序。