Transcriptomic analysis reveals impact of gE/gI/TK deletions on host response to PRV infection.

BACKGROUND: Pseudorabies virus (PRV) causes substantial losses in the swine industry worldwide. Attenuated PRV strains with deletions of immunomodulatory genes glycoprotein E (gE), glycoprotein I (gI) and thymidine kinase (TK) are candidate vaccines. However, the effects of gE/gI/TK deletions on PRV-host interactions are not well understood. METHODS: To characterize the impact of gE/gI/TK deletions on host cells, we analyzed and compared the transcriptomes of PK15 cells infected with wild-type PRV (SD2017), PRV with gE/gI/TK deletions (SD2017gE/gI/TK) using RNA-sequencing. RESULTS: The attenuated SD2017gE/gI/TK strain showed increased expression of inflammatory cytokines and pathways related to immunity compared to wild-type PRV. Cell cycle regulation and metabolic pathways were also perturbed. CONCLUSIONS: Deletion of immunomodulatory genes altered PRV interactions with host cells and immune responses. This study provides insights into PRV vaccine design.

RSL3 Inhibits Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Replication by Activating Ferroptosis.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious coronavirus that induces diarrhea and death in neonatal piglets, resulting in substantial economic losses to the global swine industry. The mechanisms of PEDV infection and the roles of host factors are still under exploration. In this study, we used the ferroptosis pathway downstream target activator (1S,3R)-RSL3 compound as a starting point, combined with the interactions of N-acetylcysteine and deferoxamine, to elucidate the effects of a series of compounds on PEDV proliferation. We also established glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) gene overexpression to further elucidate the relationship between the ferroptosis pathway and PEDV. (1S,3R)-RSL3 inhibited PEDV replication in Vero cells, while N-acetylcysteine and deferoxamine promoted its proliferation. In addition, (1S,3R)-RSL3 mainly affected the replication stage of PEDV. Overexpression of GPX4 promoted PEDV proliferation, indicating that the ferroptosis pathway could influence PEDV replication in Vero cells. This study focused on the mechanism of (1S,3R)-RSL3 inhibition on PEDV, laying the foundation for exploring the pathogenic mechanisms of PEDV and drug development.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of PK15 cells infected with a PRV variant and the Bartha-K/61 vaccine strain.

Introduction: Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a herpesvirus that can infect domestic animals, such as pigs, cattle and sheep, and cause fever, itching (except pigs), and encephalomyelitis. In particular, the emergence of PRV variants in 2011 have resulted in serious economic losses to the Chinese pig industry. However, the signaling pathways mediated by PRV variants and their related mechanisms are not fully understood. Methods: Here, we performed RNA-seq to compare the gene expression profiling between PRV virulent SD2017-infected PK15 cells and Bartha-K/61-infected PK15 cells. Results: The results showed that 5,030 genes had significantly different expression levels, with 2,239 upregulated and 2,791 downregulated. GO enrichment analysis showed that SD2017 significantly up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly enriched in the binding of cell cycle, protein and chromatin, while down-regulated DEGs were mainly enriched in ribosomes. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the pathways most enriched for upregulated DEGs were pathways in cancer, cell cycle, microRNAs in cancer, mTOR signaling pathway and autophagy-animal. The most down-regulated pathways of DEGs enrichment were ribosome, oxidative phosphorylation, and thermogenesis. These KEGG pathways were involved in cell cycle, signal transduction, autophagy, and virus-host cell interactions. Discussion: Our study provides a general overview of host cell responses to PRV virulent infection and lays a foundation for further study of the infection mechanism of PRV variant strain.

Fabrication of PPy Nanosphere/rGO Composites via a Facile Self-Assembly Strategy for Durable Microwave Absorption.

Traditional magnetic metal and alloy materials suffer from easy oxidation and high density, which hinders their practical application as high-performance microwave absorbers. Lightweight and durability have become new goals in the fabrication of the next generation of microwave absorbers. Herein, we report the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) nanosphere/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites through chemical reduction of self-assembly PPy nanosphere/GO hybrids. PPy nanospheres and GO are integrated effectively by π⁻π interaction of dual conjugated systems. When the mass ratio of PPy nanospheres to rGO is 0.6:1, the resultant composite, PPy/rGO-0.6, presents comparable/superior reflection loss characteristics to those magnetic metals and their related graphene-based composites in previous studies. Electromagnetic analysis reveals that well-matched characteristic impedance, multiple polarization loss, and good conductivity loss are, together, responsible for the excellent microwave absorption performance of PPy/rGO-0.6. More importantly, PPy/rGO-0.6 also exhibits good microwave absorption after being treated at 423 K for a long time. This work provides a new idea for designing and preparing a high-performance microwave absorber with lightweight and durable features.