Liu Yayun, Yin Dongdong, Wang Jieru, Dai Yin, Shen Xuehuai, Yin Lei, Zhou Bin, Pan Xiaocheng
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Livestock and Poultry Epidemic Diseases Research Center of Anhui Province, Hefei 230031, China.
Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Product Safety, Hefei 230031, China.
Viruses. 2025 Jun 30;17(7):933. doi: 10.3390/v17070933.
Beta-sitosterol (BS), a naturally occurring phytosterol abundant in plants, has been reported to exhibit diverse biological activities, including immunomodulatory and antiviral effects. Classical swine fever virus (CSFV), a member of the Pestivirus genus, remains a persistent threat to the swine industry worldwide, causing considerable economic damage. Our research found that BS significantly enhances the replication of both the CSFV-Shimen strain and the attenuated C-strain vaccine virus in PK-15 cells. Additionally, transcriptomic profiling (RNA-Seq) identified 175 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) following BS exposure, comprising 53 upregulated and 122 downregulated genes. Further results demonstrated that treatment with β-sitosterol suppressed IκBα expression, thereby activating the NF-κB pathway, and that knockdown of endogenous IκBα significantly promoted CSFV replication. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how BS influences the CSFV infection process, suggesting its role as a host lipid-associated factor facilitating viral propagation.
β-谷甾醇（BS）是一种天然存在且在植物中含量丰富的植物甾醇，据报道具有多种生物学活性，包括免疫调节和抗病毒作用。猪瘟病毒属成员经典猪瘟病毒（CSFV）仍然是全球养猪业持续面临的威胁，造成相当大的经济损失。我们的研究发现，BS显著增强了CSFV-石门株和减毒C株疫苗病毒在PK-15细胞中的复制。此外，转录组分析（RNA-Seq）确定了BS处理后175个差异表达基因（DEG），其中包括53个上调基因和122个下调基因。进一步的结果表明，β-谷甾醇处理抑制了IκBα表达，从而激活了NF-κB途径，并且内源性IκBα的敲低显著促进了CSFV复制。这些发现有助于更深入地了解BS如何影响CSFV感染过程，表明其作为促进病毒传播的宿主脂质相关因子的作用。
