MicroRNA expression analysis of feline and canine parvovirus infection in vivo (felis)

Abstract

Feline panleukopenia is a common contagious disease with high morbidity and mortality. At present, feline parvovirus (FPV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) variants are the pathogens of feline panleukopenia. Many studies have shown that miRNAs are involved in virus-host interactions. Nevertheless, miRNA expression profiling of FPV (original virus) or CPV-2b (new virus) in cats has not been reported. To investigate these profiles, three 10-week-old cats were orally inoculated with 106 TCID50 of the viruses (FPV and CPV-2b), and the jejunums of one cat in each group were sectioned for miRNA sequencing at 5 days post-inoculation (dpi). This study is the first attempt to use miRNA analysis to understand the molecular basis of FPV and CPV infection in cats. The miRNA expression profiles of the jejunums of cats infected with FPV and CPV were obtained, and a subset of miRNAs was validated by real-time qPCR. The results show that a variety of metabolism-related pathways, cytokine- and pathogen-host interaction-related pathways, and pathology- and cellar structure-related pathways, as well as others, were affected. Specifically, the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, which is critical for cytokines and growth factors, was enriched. This description of the miRNAs involved in regulating FPV and CPV infection in vivo provides further insight into the mechanisms of viral infection and adaptation and might provide an alternative antiviral strategy for disease control and prevention.

Fig 1. The pathology of FPV and CPV-2b experimental infection in cats.

A: Virus shedding in inoculated cats. B: Viral replication in tissues of inoculated cats that were euthanized on 5 dpi. C: Histological examination of infected cat jejunums.

Fig 2. The difference of miRNA expression levels.

A: Statistical significance of the differences in FPV infection in jejunums is showed in the volcano plot. The top right corner shows the number of differentially expressed miRNAs. B: Statistical significance of the differences in CPV infection in jejunums is showed in the volcano plot. The top right corner shows the number of differentially expressed miRNAs. Distributions of up-regulated (C) and down-regulated (D) miRNAs in FPV and CPV infection. The data depicted here is derived from one cat in each of the three groups.

Fig 3. KEGG pathways of target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs.

A: Metabolism-related pathways. B: Cytokine- and pathogen-host interaction-related pathways. C: Pathology and cellar structure-related pathways. D: Other pathways.

Fig 4. The JAK-STAT signaling pathway.

A: The interaction network of the miRNAs, target genes, and JAK-STAT signaling pathway. B: Diagram of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway from the KEGG database. The red blocks mark the regulated genes.