Identification of lncRNAs Involved in PCV2 Infection of PK-15 Cells

Abstract

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) can cause severe disease in infected pigs, resulting in massive economic loss for the swine industry. Transcriptomic and proteomic approaches have been widely employed to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms of the PCV2 infection. Numerous differentially expressed mRNAs, miRNAs, and proteins, together with their associated signaling pathways, have been identified during PCV2 infection, paving the way for analysis of their biological functions. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important regulators of multiple biological processes. However, little is known regarding their role in the PCV2 infection. Hence, in our study, RNA-seq was performed by infecting PK-15 cells with PCV2. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) suggested that the cytoskeleton, apoptosis, cell division, and protein phosphorylation were significantly disturbed. Then, using stringent parameters, six lncRNAs were identified. Additionally, potential targets of the lncRNAs were predicted using both cis- and trans-prediction methods. Interestingly, we found that the HOXB (Homeobox B) gene cluster was probably the target of the lncRNA LOC106505099. Enrichment analysis of the target genes showed that numerous developmental processes were altered during PCV2 infection. Therefore, our study revealed that lncRNAs might affect porcine embryonic development through the regulation of the HOXB genes.