Human Adenovirus Serotype 5 (HAdV-5) Infection of Kidney Fibroblast Cells Disrupts Cysteine, Purine, and Unsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism in a Dose- and Time-Dependent Manner

Abstract

Kidneys partake in numerous metabolic responsibilities, notably clearance of insulin from circulation, gluconeogenesis, and reabsorption of amino acids. Viral-induced kidney damage, either acutely or chronically, can occur from direct impact on kidney cells and from systemic and local immunological responses to counter the viral infection. Thus, it is likely that metabolic dysfunction is a consequence of infections. The detriments of viral infection on kidney cell metabolism remains an unelucidated area. We used human adenovirus serotype 5 (HAdV-5) to infect human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293T) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We hypothesized that optimal metabolic dysfunction results after 24 hours of infection and at the highest viral dose. Cells were exposed to three viral dosages (0.5,1.0,2.0 multiplicity of infection [MOI]) and metabolism assessed by untargeted metabolomics at four time points (6-,12-,24-, 36-hours post infection [HPI]). A total of 182 metabolites were identified in our study. As early as 6 hrs, the metabolic profile of infected cells exhibited downregulation of cystathionine, cysteine, homocysteine, hypoxanthine, linoleic acid, and oleic acid with upregulation of 5'-Deoxy-5'-methylthioadenosine (MTA) and adenine. Peak dysregulation for carbohydrate, cysteine, organic acid, purine, and unsaturated fatty acid-related metabolites was observed at 12 hrs. At 24 hours, tapering of the overall metabolite response was observed with further dysregulation seen at 36 hours. Across all three dosages, responses to infection were similar. Perturbation of the cysteine, purine, and unsaturated fatty acid metabolic pathways has not previously been considered with HAdV-5 infection and a commonly used cell line exhibiting properties of kidney, and historically neuronal components. Although not investigated, uncovering adenoviral impact on enzymatic activity in these pathways could elucidate more understanding of renal impairment. These data altogether suggest that substantial DNA viral infection disrupts cellular metabolic pathways that may impair renal functions but need to be evaluated in an in vivo model. USDA HSI Educational Grant 2021-03397. Bailey-J Sanchez was supported by USDA HSI Educational Grant 2021-03397. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.