A novel antisense RNA ASPACT confers multi-level suppression of PACT and associated signalling.

The innate immune system is the frontline host protection against pathogens. Effective antiviral immunity is elicited upon recognition of viral RNAs by the host pattern recognition receptors. One of the major viral RNA sensors is retinoic acid inducible gene-1, which triggers the production of interferons (IFNs). In turn, this protective response requires another viral sensor and immunity factor interferon-inducible protein kinase RNA activator (PACT/PRKRA). Here, we report the identification and characterization of a novel antisense PACT gene that expresses a non-coding RNA in a convergent and interferon-inducible manner. Publicly available gene structure and expression data revealed that this gene, that we termed overlaps with the 3' -end of the PACT locus and is highly expressed during viral infection. Our results confirm the IFN-β-inducibility of Aduanyu1842CT, which is dependent on We further discovered that downregulation of impacts both the expression and localization of the PACT transcript. At the transcription level, ChIP and ChIRP assays demonstrated that the Aduanyu1842CT non-coding RNA occupies distinct chromatin regions of PACT gene and is important for promoter recruitment of the epigenetic silencer HDAC1. In parallel, Aduanyu1842CT was also found to mediate nuclear retention of the PACT mRNA via direct RNA-RNA interaction, as revealed by RNA antisense purification assay. In summary, our results support the model that the non-coding RNA Aduanyu1842CT acts as a negative regulator of PACT at multiple levels, and reveal a novel regulator of the viral counteractive response.

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