Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs

African swine fever virus (ASFV) has become widespread in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, thereby causing extensive economic losses. The viral genome includes nearly 200 genes, but their expression within infected pigs has not been well characterized previously. In this study, four pigs were infected wi...

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Main Authors: Ann Sofie Olesen, Miyako Kodama, Louise Lohse, Francesc Accensi, Thomas Bruun Rasmussen, Christina M. Lazov, Morten T. Limborg, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Anette Bøtner, Graham J. Belsham
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-11-01
Series:Viruses
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/11/2333
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author Ann Sofie Olesen
Miyako Kodama
Louise Lohse
Francesc Accensi
Thomas Bruun Rasmussen
Christina M. Lazov
Morten T. Limborg
M. Thomas P. Gilbert
Anette Bøtner
Graham J. Belsham
author_facet Ann Sofie Olesen
Miyako Kodama
Louise Lohse
Francesc Accensi
Thomas Bruun Rasmussen
Christina M. Lazov
Morten T. Limborg
M. Thomas P. Gilbert
Anette Bøtner
Graham J. Belsham
author_sort Ann Sofie Olesen
collection DOAJ
description African swine fever virus (ASFV) has become widespread in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, thereby causing extensive economic losses. The viral genome includes nearly 200 genes, but their expression within infected pigs has not been well characterized previously. In this study, four pigs were infected with a genotype II strain (ASFV POL/2015/Podlaskie); blood samples were collected before inoculation and at both 3 and 6 days later. During this period, a range of clinical signs of infection became apparent in the pigs. From the blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated. The transcription of the ASFV genes was determined using RNAseq on poly(A)+ mRNAs isolated from these cells. Only very low levels of virus transcription were detected in the PBMCs at 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) but, at 6 dpi, extensive transcription was apparent. This was co-incident with a large increase in the level of ASFV DNA within these cells. The pattern of the virus gene expression was very reproducible between the individual pigs. Many highly expressed genes have undefined roles. Surprisingly, some genes with key roles in virus replication were expressed at only low levels. As the functions of individual genes are identified, information about their expression becomes important for understanding their contribution to virus biology.
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spelling doaj.art-764a825623974a19a4c325897d4448f02023-11-23T01:59:01ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-11-011311233310.3390/v13112333Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected PigsAnn Sofie Olesen0Miyako Kodama1Louise Lohse2Francesc Accensi3Thomas Bruun Rasmussen4Christina M. Lazov5Morten T. Limborg6M. Thomas P. Gilbert7Anette Bøtner8Graham J. Belsham9Section of Veterinary Clinical Microbiology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkCenter for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, DenmarkSection for Veterinary Virology, Department of Virus & Microbiological Special Diagnostics, Statens Serum Institut, 2300 Copenhagen, DenmarkCentre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (IRTA-CReSA), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, SpainSection for Veterinary Virology, Department of Virus & Microbiological Special Diagnostics, Statens Serum Institut, 2300 Copenhagen, DenmarkSection of Veterinary Clinical Microbiology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkCenter for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, DenmarkCenter for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, DenmarkSection of Veterinary Clinical Microbiology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkSection of Veterinary Clinical Microbiology, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkAfrican swine fever virus (ASFV) has become widespread in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, thereby causing extensive economic losses. The viral genome includes nearly 200 genes, but their expression within infected pigs has not been well characterized previously. In this study, four pigs were infected with a genotype II strain (ASFV POL/2015/Podlaskie); blood samples were collected before inoculation and at both 3 and 6 days later. During this period, a range of clinical signs of infection became apparent in the pigs. From the blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated. The transcription of the ASFV genes was determined using RNAseq on poly(A)+ mRNAs isolated from these cells. Only very low levels of virus transcription were detected in the PBMCs at 3 days post-inoculation (dpi) but, at 6 dpi, extensive transcription was apparent. This was co-incident with a large increase in the level of ASFV DNA within these cells. The pattern of the virus gene expression was very reproducible between the individual pigs. Many highly expressed genes have undefined roles. Surprisingly, some genes with key roles in virus replication were expressed at only low levels. As the functions of individual genes are identified, information about their expression becomes important for understanding their contribution to virus biology.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/11/2333African swine fever virustranscriptomicsgene expressionPBMCsRNAseq
spellingShingle Ann Sofie Olesen
Miyako Kodama
Louise Lohse
Francesc Accensi
Thomas Bruun Rasmussen
Christina M. Lazov
Morten T. Limborg
M. Thomas P. Gilbert
Anette Bøtner
Graham J. Belsham
Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
Viruses
African swine fever virus
transcriptomics
gene expression
PBMCs
RNAseq
title Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
title_full Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
title_fullStr Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
title_full_unstemmed Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
title_short Identification of African Swine Fever Virus Transcription within Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Acutely Infected Pigs
title_sort identification of african swine fever virus transcription within peripheral blood mononuclear cells of acutely infected pigs
topic African swine fever virus
transcriptomics
gene expression
PBMCs
RNAseq
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/11/2333
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