Expression profile of selected genes of the E-11 cell line in response to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus infection

Abstract

Most fish species are susceptible to red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) which causes viral encephalopathy and retinopathy leading to huge financial losses in the aquaculture farming industry for decades. A knowledge of RGNNV replication and the host response in depth is warranted to understand the host-virus interaction and to develop an effective approach to inhibit this virus. This study therefore aimed to investigate the expression of selected immune and stress-related genes of the E-11 clonal cell line upon RGNNV infection. The results showed significant upregulation of viperin, hsp70 and tnfaip3 transcripts at 48 h post infection, while the transcript abundance of irf3, cc chemokine, hsp30 showed increases which did not reach significance and tnf-α showed no change in expression in response to infection. This study highlights the involvement of viperin, hsp70 and tnfaip3 during RGNNV infection of E-11 cells which provides a clearer understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of the disease.

Keywords

• Red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV)
• E-11 cell
• Gene expression
• Immune
• Innate responses