Novel insights into viral infection and oncogenesis from koala retrovirus (KoRV) infection of HEK293T cells

Abstract

Koala retrovirus is thought to be an underlying cause of high levels of neoplasia and immunosuppression in koalas. While epidemiology studies suggest a strong link between KoRV and disease it has been difficult to prove causality because of the complex nature of the virus, which exists in both endogenous and exogenous forms. It has been difficult to identify koalas completely free of KoRV, and infection studies in koalas or koala cells are fraught with ethical and technical difficulties, respectively. This study uses KoRV infection of the susceptible human cell line HEK293T and RNAseq to demonstrate gene networks differentially regulated upon KoRV infection. Many of the pathways identified are those associated with viral infection, such as cytokine receptor interactions and interferon signalling pathways, as well as viral oncogenesis pathways. This study provides strong evidence that KoRV does indeed behave similarly to infectious retroviruses in stimulating antiviral and oncogenic cellular responses. In addition, it provides novel insights into KoRV oncogenesis with the identification of a group of histone family genes that are part of several oncogenic pathways as upregulated in KoRV infection.