title: Viral envelope protein 53R gene highly specific silencing and iridovirus resistance in fish Cells by AmiRNA.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Envelope protein 53R was identified from frog Rana grylio virus (RGV), a member of the family Iridoviridae, and it plays an important role in the virus assembly. Although inhibition of iridovirus major capsid protein (MCP) by small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has been shown to cause resistance to viral infection in vitro, RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit aquatic animal virus envelope protein gene product has not been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  We devised artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) that target a viral envelope protein gene RGV 53R. By incorporating sequences encoding amiRNAs specific to 53R of RGV into pre-miRNA155 (pSM155) vectors, which use the backbone of natural miR-155 sequence and could intracellularly express 53R-targeted pre-amiRNAs. The pre-amiRNAs could be processed by the RNase III-like enzyme Dicer into 21-25 nt amiRNAs (amiR-53Rs) in fish cell lines. The levels of 53R expression were analyzed through real-time PCR and RGV virions assembly were observed by electronic microscopy in fish cells transfected with or without amiR-53Rs at 72 h of RGV infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results argue that viral envelope protein RGV 53R can be silenced and the virions assembly was deficient by amiR-53R-1, and further identified the first amiRNA of envelope protein gene from iridovirus that was able to cause resistance to virus infection in fish cells. The data demonstrate that the viral infection is efficiently suppressed (58%) by amiR-53R-1 targeting positon 36-57 of RGV 53R. Moreover, electron microscopic observations revealed virion assembly defect or reduced virions assembly capacity was closely correlated to expression of amiR-53R-1. Based on real time PCR of the Mx gene, we found no evidence of activation of IFN by amiR-53R-1.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Sin
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Xiao-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Qi-Ya
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005399:Fishes / Q000821:virology; D020868:Gene Silencing; D007497:Iridoviridae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D034622:RNA Interference; D017995:Ranavirus; D011898:Ranidae; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics*; D014771:Virion; D019065:Virus Assembly
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins