Avian reovirus σA and σNS proteins activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent Akt signalling pathway.

The present study was conducted to identify avian reovirus (ARV) proteins that can activate the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent Akt pathway. Based on ARV protein amino acid sequence analysis, σA, σNS, µA, µB and µNS were identified as putative proteins capable of mediating PI3K/Akt pathway activation. The recombinant plasmids σA-pcAGEN, σNS-pcAGEN, µA-pcAGEN, µB-pcAGEN and µNS-pcAGEN were constructed and used to transfect Vero cells, and the expression levels of the corresponding genes were quantified by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. Phosphorylated Akt (P-Akt) levels in the transfected cells were measured by flow cytometry and Western blot analysis. The results showed that the σA, σNS, µA, µB and µNS genes were expressed in Vero cells. σA-expressing and σNS-expressing cells had higher P-Akt levels than negative control cells, pcAGEN-expressing cells and cells designed to express other proteins (i.e., µA, µB and µNS). Pre-treatment with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 inhibited Akt phosphorylation in σA- and σNS-expressing cells. These results indicate that the σA and σNS proteins can activate the PI3K/Akt pathway.