Investigating the cross-talk between circRNAs and PKR and its implication in the immune response in MS

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as a new type of endogenous non-coding RNA characterized by their covalently closed circular structure and a backspliced junction (BSJ) resulting from a back-splicing process. In the last years, several studies have shown that circRNAs are important modulators in the immune system, activation of inflammation, antibacterial and antiviral responses as well as autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. In the last years, it has been proposed that a subset of circRNA form imperfect double-stranded structures that allow them to interact with PKR (double stranded RNA-activated protein kinase), an intracellular protein responsible for recognizing long double stranded RNAs, usually viral RNAs, in the cytoplasm and trigger an anti-viral response of the cell. Taking into account the implication of the innate immune response in multiple sclerosis pathophysiology and the discovery of circRNA deregulation in multiple sclerosis patients, we wanted to investigate the circRNA-PKR crosstalk and its implication in the pathology of multiple sclerosis. Using an in vitro model of the anti-viral response and RNA-seq to characterize circRNA expression, we observed that poly (I:C) (a double-stranded RNA) stimulation produces a global downregulation of circRNA, PKR phosphorylation and immune-related gene activation and that these effects are reversed when treatment is stopped. Additionally, we found that the overexpression of double stranded RNA-containing circRNAs is able to reduce the PKR phosphorylation and the activation of immune-related pathways induced by poly(I:C). Finally, we measured the PKR phosphorylation in PBMCs isolated from multiple sclerosis patients in relapse and remission phases, but we did not obtain conclusive results since there is a very big variability between samples. In conclusion, this work reinforces the evidence on the mechanism describing the interaction between PKR and circRNA containing double-stranded structures and their role in the immune response. Besides, our experiments highlight the importance of the structure in circRNA function. Lastly, it also sheds some light into the possible implication of the circRNA-PKR axis in multiple sclerosis although further research is needed to make a better characterization of this mechanism in order to understand its potential role in the regulation of the immune response of the disease.