ARS | Publication request: Transcriptional profiling of chicken gene expression during cytolytic infection of Marek's disease virus

Submitted to: International Marek's Disease Symposium Abstracts and Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: July 6, 2008
Publication Date: July 6, 2008
Citation: Heidari, M., Sarson, A., Huebner, M., Sharif, S. 2008. Transcriptional profiling of chicken gene expression during cytolytic infection of Marek's disease virus [abstract]. 8th International Marek's Disease Symposium Abstracts, July 6-10, 2008, Townsville, Australia. p. 56.

Technical Abstract: Marek¿s disease (MD), a lymphoproliferative disease of chicken is caused by a highly cell-associated alpha-herpesvirus, Marek¿s disease virus (MDV). MDV replicates in chicken lymphocytes and establishes a latent infection within CD4+ T cells. The expression analysis of limited viral and host transcripts have revealed differences in gene expression pattern during cytolytic and latent phases of MDV infection. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive chicken gene expression profiling using oligonucleotide-based Affymetrix GeneChip Chicken Genome Arrays. These arrays contain probes for 32,773 chicken transcripts corresponding to more than 28,000 chicken genes. They also contain 680 probe sets for detecting 684 transcripts from 17 avian viruses. Two-week-old MD-susceptible chickens were inoculated with an oncogenic strain of MDV, and spleen samples were collected at 5 days post inoculation (cytolytic infection) for RNA isolation and microarray analysis. Array results displayed a significant differential pattern of host transcriptome between the MDV-infected and control birds. Comparison between the infected and control chickens revealed that the expression levels of 417 chicken genes were increased (2-10 fold), while the expression levels of more than 625 genes were down regulated (2-7 fold). The differentially expressed genes can be classified as genes involved in protein synthesis, cell cycle, signal transduction, apoptosis, mitochondrial-related proteins, and immune responses. Data indicates that MDV interferes with the normal functional activities of innate and adaptive immunity during the lytic infection. These chicken genome arrays have considerable promise as a valuable tool in understanding the molecular mechanism regulating MDV cytolytic and latent infection, and providing insights into the chicken gene expression pattern and associated biological pathways in response to different phases of viral pathogenesis.