Pang Feng, Zhang Mengmeng, Yang Xiaojian, Li Guohua, Zhu Shu, Nie Xin, Cao Ruiyong, Yang Xiaohong, Zhang Zhenxing, Huang Haifeng, Li Baobao, Wang Chengqiang, Du Li, Wang Fengyang
College of Animal Science and Technology, College of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Hainan Key Lab of Tropical Animal Reproduction & Breeding and Epidemic Disease Research, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
PeerJ. 2019 Jan 22;7:e6267. doi: 10.7717/peerj.6267. eCollection 2019.
Orf, caused by Orf virus (ORFV), is a globally distributed zoonotic disease responsible for serious economic losses in the agricultural sector. However, the mechanism underlying ORFV infection remains largely unknown. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel type of endogenous non-coding RNAs, play important roles in various pathological processes but their involvement in ORFV infection and host response is unclear. In the current study, whole transcriptome sequencing and small RNA sequencing were performed in ORFV-infected goat skin fibroblast cells and uninfected cells. A total of 151 circRNAs, 341 messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and 56 microRNAs (miRNAs) were differently expressed following ORFV infection. Four circRNAs: circRNA1001, circRNA1684, circRNA3127 and circRNA7880 were validated by qRT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that host genes of differently expressed circRNAs were significantly enriched in regulation of inflammatory response, epithelial structure maintenance, positive regulation of cell migration, positive regulation of ubiquitin-protein transferase activity, regulation of ion transmembrane transport, etc. The constructed circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network suggested that circRNAs may function as miRNA sponges indirectly regulating gene expression following ORFV infection. Our study presented the first comprehensive profiles of circRNAs in response to ORFV infection, thus providing new clues for the mechanisms of interactions between ORFV and the host.
羊口疮由羊口疮病毒（ORFV）引起，是一种全球分布的人畜共患病，给农业部门造成严重经济损失。然而，ORFV感染的潜在机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。环状RNA（circRNAs）是一种新型的内源性非编码RNA，在各种病理过程中发挥重要作用，但其在ORFV感染和宿主反应中的作用尚不清楚。在本研究中，对ORFV感染的山羊皮肤成纤维细胞和未感染细胞进行了全转录组测序和小RNA测序。ORFV感染后，共有151种circRNA、341种信使RNA（mRNA）和56种微小RNA（miRNA）差异表达。通过qRT-PCR和Sanger测序验证了4种circRNA：circRNA1001、circRNA1684、circRNA31则和circRNA7880。基因本体（GO）分析表明，差异表达circRNA的宿主基因在炎症反应调节、上皮结构维持、细胞迁移的正调节、泛素-蛋白质转移酶活性的正调节、离子跨膜运输调节等方面显著富集。构建的circRNA-miRNA-mRNA网络表明，circRNA可能作为miRNA海绵间接调节ORFV感染后的基因表达。我们的研究首次全面描述了circRNA对ORFV感染的反应，从而为ORFV与宿主之间相互作用的机制提供了新线索。
