title: Growth retardation induced by avian leukosis virus subgroup J associated with down-regulated Wnt/β-catenin pathway.
abstract: Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J), an oncogenic retrovirus, induces growth retardation and neoplasia in chickens, leading to enormous economic losses in poultry industry. Increasing evidences showed several signal pathways involved in ALV-J infection. However, what signaling pathway involved in growth retardation is largely unknown. To explore the possible signaling pathway, we tested the cell proliferation and associated miRNAs in ALV-J infected CEF cells by CCK-8 and Hiseq, respectively. The results showed that cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by ALV-J and three associated miRNAs were identified to target Wnt/β-catenin pathway. To verify the Wnt/β-catenin pathway involved in cell growth retardation, we analyzed the key molecules of Wnt pathway in ALV-J infected CEF cells. Our data demonstrated that protein expression of β-catenin was decreased significantly post ALV-J infection compared with the normal (P < 0.05). The impact of this down-regulation caused low expression of known target genes (Axin2, CyclinD1, Tcf4 and Lef1). Further, to obtain in vivo evidence, we set up an ALV-J infection model. Post 7 weeks infection, ALV-J infected chickens showed significant growth retardation. Subsequent tests showed that the expression of β-catenin, Tcf1, Tcf4, Lef1, Axin2 and CyclinD1 were down-regulated in muscles of growth retardation chickens. Taken together, all data demonstrated that chicken growth retardation caused by ALV-J associated with down-regulated Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China; Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Defang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Weifang Medical University, Weifang, China.
authors.forename: Zhifang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Guihua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China. Electronic address: czqsd@126.com.
authors.forename: Ziqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001353:Avian Leukosis / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D001354:Avian Leukosis Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002645:Chickens; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D014157:Transcription Factors; D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J); Growth retardation; Wnt/β-catenin