Alteration of cell cycle progression by Sindbis virus infection

We examined the impact of Sindbis virus (SINV) infection on cell cycle progression in a cancer cell line, HeLa, and a non-cancerous cell line, Vero. Cell cycle analyses showed that SINV infection is able to alter the cell cycle progression in both HeLa and Vero cells, but differently, especially during the early stage of infection. SINV infection affected the expression of several cell cycle regulators (CDK4, CDK6, cyclin E, p21, cyclin A and cyclin B) in HeLa cells and caused HeLa cells to accumulate in S phase during the early stage of infection. Monitoring SINV replication in HeLa and Vero cells expressing cell cycle indicators revealed that SINV which infected HeLa cells during G1 phase preferred to proliferate during S/G2 phase, and the average time interval for viral replication was significantly shorter in both HeLa and Vero cells infected during G1 phase than in cells infected during S/G2 phase. •SINV infection was able to alter the cell cycle progression of infected cancer cells.•SINV infection can affect the expression of cell cycle regulators.•SINV infection exhibited a preference for the timing of viral replication among the cell cycle phases.