Influenza A virus (IAV) infection produces a variety of aberrant RNA molecules, including defective viral genomes and mini viral RNAs, which can activate the host innate immune response, and that accurately measuring the kinetics and distribution of these aberrant RNAs is important for understanding their function in IAV infection. Cameron Myhrvold and A. J. te Velthius at Princeton Univ. found that Cas13 can be used to detect influenza A virus mini viral RNAs (mvRNAs) in cell culture, animal, and clinical samples, but there is a tradeoff between the sensitivity and specificity of the Cas13 detection method.
- The most sensitive Cas13 guides were able to detect mvRNAs but could not differentiate between different mvRNAs from the same gene segment.
- More specific Cas13 guides had lower sensitivity and were unable to detect all mvRNAs present in complex samples.
Lamb CH, Pitré EM, Ajufo S, Rigby CV, Bisht K, Oade MS, Jalal H, Myhrvold C, Te Velthuis AJW. Quantification of influenza virus mini viral RNAs using Cas13. RNA. 2024 Dec 16;31(1):126-138. doi: 10.1261/rna.080174.124. PMID: 39419543. https://rnajournal.cshlp.org/content/31/1/126.full
Comments