In vivo expression patterns of microRNAs of Gallid herpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2) during the virus life cycle and development of Marek’s disease lymphomas

In the past decade, a large number of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified in the viral genome of Gallid herpesvirus 2 (GaHV-2), which is historically known as Marek’s disease virus type 1. The biological role of most GaHV-2 miRNAs remains unclear. In the present study, we have performed an overall gene expression profile of GaHV-2 miRNAs during the virus life cycle at each phase of the developing disease, a highly contagious, lymphoproliferative disorder, and neoplastic immunosuppressive disease of poultry known as the Marek’s disease. According to their distinct in vivo expression patterns, the GaHV-2 miRNAs can be divided into three groups: 12 miRNAs in group I, including miR-M4-5p, displayed a typical expression pattern potentially correlated to the latent, late cytolytic, and/or the proliferative phases in the cycle of GaHV-2 pathogenesis; group II consisting of another 12 miRNAs with expression correlated to the early cytolytic and/or latent phases in GaHV-2’s life cycle; while the other two miRNAs in group III showed no identical expression features. Our findings may provide meaningful clues in the search for further potential functions of viral miRNAs in GaHV-2 biology.