Chen Wende, Han Shaojie, Li Rong, Li Shuo, Cao Zhi, Pan Qing, Li Gen
College of Veterinary Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Laboratory of Virology, Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Front Immunol. 2025 May 20;16:1570872. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1570872. eCollection 2025.
Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a well-established tumor suppressor gene that antagonizes the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and plays a critical role in regulating both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, its function in avian species, particularly in ducks, remains largely unexplored.
In this study, the full-length cDNA of duck PTEN (PTEN) was cloned from the spleen of healthy Cherry Valley ducks. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed to evaluate its structural conservation and evolutionary relationships. The tissue distribution of duPTEN mRNA was examined using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Furthermore, duPTEN expression was assessed in the spleen, lung, and brain at 1, 3, and 5 days post-infection (dpi) following exposure to Duck Tembusu Virus (DTMUV), Duck Plague Virus (DPV), and Novel Duck Reovirus (NDRV).
Sequence analysis demonstrated that PTEN shares a high degree of conservation with PTEN from other avian species, displaying 100% identity with sequences from and . qRT-PCR results revealed that PTEN is ubiquitously expressed across multiple tissues, with the highest expression observed in the brain. Upon DTMUV and DPV infection, duPTEN expression was significantly upregulated in the spleen and lung but downregulated in the brain. In contrast, NDRV infection led to consistent downregulation of PTEN across all three tissues.
This study is the first to characterize the molecular cloning, tissue-specific expression, and virus-induced regulation of PTEN in ducks. The findings suggest that PTEN plays a role in the host immune response to diverse viral infections, highlighting its potential involvement in the regulation of antiviral innate immunity in avian species.
磷酸酶和张力蛋白同源物（PTEN）是一种公认的肿瘤抑制基因，它拮抗PI3K/AKT信号通路，并在调节先天性和适应性免疫反应中发挥关键作用。然而，其在禽类，特别是鸭中的功能在很大程度上仍未被探索。
在本研究中，从健康樱桃谷鸭的脾脏中克隆了鸭PTEN（duPTEN）的全长cDNA。进行序列比对和系统发育分析以评估其结构保守性和进化关系。使用定量实时PCR（qRT-PCR）检测duPTEN mRNA的组织分布。此外，在感染鸭坦布苏病毒（DTMUV）、鸭瘟病毒（DPV）和新型鸭呼肠孤病毒（NDRV）后的第1、3和5天，评估脾脏、肺和脑中duPTEN的表达。
序列分析表明，duPTEN与其他禽类的PTEN具有高度保守性，与[具体物种1]和[具体物种2]的序列具有100%的同一性。qRT-PCR结果显示，duPTEN在多个组织中普遍表达，在脑中表达最高。在DTMUV和DPV感染后，脾脏和肺中duPTEN的表达显著上调，但脑中下调。相比之下，NDRV感染导致所有三个组织中PTEN持续下调。
本研究首次对鸭PTEN的分子克隆、组织特异性表达和病毒诱导调节进行了表征。研究结果表明，PTEN在宿主对多种病毒感染的免疫反应中发挥作用，突出了其在禽类抗病毒先天性免疫调节中的潜在参与。
