Exit Seminar: Diana Bautista-Sánchez

Fundamentals of the astrocyte-coronavirus interplay: from extracellular matrix remodeling to astrocytic activation controlled by human miR-4443

Human astrocytes assume crucial functions in brain homeostasis yet changes to their molecular programing in response to viral infection remain underexplored. Previous studies limited to single-timepoint or -omics approaches are insufficient to understand the astrocyte-coronavirus interplay, particularly astrocytic activation, a process driving inflammatory and neuroprotective responses. To gain insights into the virus-host interplay, I performed a time-resolved transcriptional, proteomic and morphological profiling of HCoV-229E-infected human primary astrocytes. The extensive dataset highlighted novel hotspots perturbed by HCoV-229E infection across omics layers, including the collagen-associatedextracellular matrix (ECM). Moreover, I identified a long non-coding RNA and microRNA axis, LINC00460/miR-4443, as a driver of astrocyte activation in HCoV-229E-infected astrocytes. Collectively this comprehensive dataset unravels new mechanistic insights into the critical role of LINC00460/miR-4443 axis in ECM-dependent astrocytic activation with potential consequences for understanding coronavirus neurological impact.