NAT10-dependent N4‐acetylcytidine modification mediates PAN RNA stability, KSHV reactivation, and IFI16-related inflammasome activation

Abstract N -acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) is an N 4 ‐acetylcytidine (ac 4 C) writer that catalyzes RNA acetylation at cytidine N 4 position on tRNAs, rRNAs and mRNAs. Recently, NAT10 and the associated ac 4 C have been reported to increase the stability of HIV-1 transcripts. Here, we show that NAT10 catalyzes ac 4 C addition to the polyadenylated nuclear RNA (PAN), a long non-coding RNA encoded by the oncogenic DNA virus Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), triggering viral lytic reactivation from latency. Mutagenesis of ac 4 C sites in PAN RNA in the context of KSHV infection abolishes PAN ac 4 C modifications, downregulates the expression of viral lytic genes and reduces virion production. NAT10 knockdown or mutagenesis erases ac 4 C modifications of PAN RNA and increases its instability, and prevents KSHV reactivation. Furthermore, PAN ac 4 C modification promotes NAT10 recruitment of IFN-γ-inducible protein-16 (IFI16) mRNA, resulting in its ac 4 C acetylation, mRNA stability and translation, and eventual inflammasome activation. These results reveal a novel mechanism of viral and host ac 4 C modifications and the associated complexes as a critical switch of KSHV replication and antiviral immunity.