Vimentin intermediate filaments facilitate transportation of hepatitis C virus components

Yifan Xing; Shuzhi Cui; Xinyi Huang; Weisong Zhao; Haoyu Li; Jing Zhao; Wakam Chang; Shuangshuang Zhao; Jin Zhong; Yuxin Chen; Yaming Jiu

doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2025.151505

Vimentin intermediate filaments facilitate transportation of hepatitis C virus components

Eur J Cell Biol. 2025 Jul 5;104(3):151505. doi: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2025.151505. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yifan Xing¹, Shuzhi Cui², Xinyi Huang², Weisong Zhao³, Haoyu Li³, Jing Zhao², Wakam Chang⁴, Shuangshuang Zhao⁵, Jin Zhong⁶, Yuxin Chen⁷, Yaming Jiu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China. Electronic address: yfxing@siii.cas.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
³ Innovation Photonics and Imaging Center, School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Matter Behaviors in Space Environment, Frontier Science Center for Interaction between Space Environment and Matter, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa 519000, Macao.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road No. 19(A), Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: sszhao2@siii.cas.cn.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road No. 19(A), Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: jzhong@siii.cas.cn.
⁷ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China. Electronic address: yuxin.chen@nju.edu.cn.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road No. 19(A), Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: ymjiu@siii.cas.cn.

PMID: 40651102
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2025.151505

Abstract

Vimentin, an intermediate filament protein, primarily contributes to intracellular organization, cell migration, and signal transduction. In recent years, the role of intermediate filaments in viral infection has garnered increasing attention. During viral infection, vimentin can regulate viral propagation by forming a vimentin cage to enclose viral replication factories, and facilitating the intracellular transport of viral components. However, whether vimentin can facilitate cell-to-cell transfer of viral components remains unknown. In this study, using hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a viral model, we demonstrated that HCV infection does not induce large-scale vimentin rearrangement or the formation of a vimentin cage. Interestingly, we observed that HCV components move directionally along a vimentin-containing cellular bridge from highly infected donor cells towards neighboring cells, potentially facilitating viral dissemination. Together, our findings unveil a previously unrecognized function of vimentin in the viral life cycle, expanding our understanding of the complex interplay between host cellular factors and viral strategies.

Keywords: Cytoskeletal vimentin; Hepatitis C virus; Host-pathogen interaction; Intermediate filaments; Viral cell-cell transmission.