Virus-Derived DNA Forms Mediate the Persistent Infection of Tick Cells by Hazara Virus and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus
Maria Salvati, Claudio Salaris, Vanessa Monteil, Claudia Del Vecchio, Giorgio Palù, Cristina Parolin, Arianna Calistri, Lesley Bell‐Sakyi, Alì Mirazimi, Cristiano Salata
Abstract
can be persistently infected with CCHFV representing the viral reservoir, and the main vector for viral transmission. Here we showed that tick cells infected with Hazara virus, a nonpathogenic model virus closely related to CCHFV, contained short viral-derived DNA forms (vDNAs) produced by endogenous retrotranscriptase activity. vDNAs are transitory molecules requiring viral RNA replication for their continuous synthesis. Interestingly, vDNA synthesis seemed to be correlated with downregulation of viral replication and promotion of tick cell viability. We also detected vDNAs in CCHFV-infected tick cells suggesting that they could represent a key element in the cell response to nairovirus infection and might represent a more general mechanism of innate immunity against RNA viral infection.