miR-146b-5p promotes duck Tembusu virus replication by targeting RPS14

Duck Tembusu Virus (DTMUV), belonging to the Flaviviridae family. Ducks of different breeds and ages can be naturally infected with DTMUV. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a important role in viral replication. However, little is known about the function of miRNAs during DTMUV infection. Here, the host miR-146b-5p was found to regulate DTMUV replication. When DTMUV infected duck embryo fibroblasts (DEFs), the expression levels of miR-146b-5p increased significantly over time. Moreover, the viral RNA copies, E protein expression levels and virus titers were all upregulated when miR-146b-5p was overexpressed in DEFs. The opposite results were also observed upon knockdown of miR-146b-5p in DEFs. To explore the mechanism by which miR-146b-5p promoted DTMUV replication, mass spectrometry and RNA pull-down assays were employed. Ribosomal protein S14 (RPS14), was identified to interact with miR-146b-5p. In addition, the relative mRNA expression levels of RPS14 gene were negatively modulated by miR-146b-5p. Subsequently, it was further found that miR-146b-5p promoted DTMUV replication by targeting RPS14. This study revealed provides a new mechanism by which DTMUV evades host defenses and a new direction for further antiviral strategies development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2023.102890.