Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Encodes Circular RNAs (circRNAs) Enabling a Dynamic circRNA/microRNA/mRNA Regulatory Network
Bizunesh Abere, Hongzhao Zhou, Jinghui Li, Simon Cao, Tuna Toptan, Adam Grundhoff, Nicole Fischer, Patrick S. Moore, Yuan Chang
Abstract
Covalently closed circular RNAs were recently described in the human DNA tumor viruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). Here, we show that MCV, another DNA tumor virus, generates circRNAs from its early regulatory region in concert with T antigen linear transcripts. MCV circMCV-T interacts with another MCV noncoding RNA, miR-M1, to functionally modulate early region transcript expression important for viral replication and long-term episomal persistence. This work describes a dynamic regulatory network integrating circRNA/miRNA/mRNA biomolecules and underscores the intricate functional modulation between several classes of polyomavirus-encoded RNAs in the control of viral replication.