GADD45β, an anti-tumor gene, inhibits avian leukosis virus subgroup J replication in chickens

// Xinheng Zhang 1, 2 , Zhuanqiang Yan 1 , Xinjian Li 1, 2 , Wencheng Lin 1, 2, 3 , Zhenkai Dai 1, 2 , Yiming Yan 1, 2 , Piaopiao Lu 1, 2 , Weiguo Chen 1, 2, 3 , Huanmin Zhang 4 , Feng Chen 1, 2, 3 , Jingyun Ma 1, 2 , Qingmei Xie 1, 2, 3 1 College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding & Key Laboratory of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Guangzhou, 510642 P. R. China 2 Key Laboratory of Animal Health Aquaculture and Environmental Control, Guangdong, Guangzhou 510642, P. R. China 3 South China Collaborative Innovation Center for Poultry Disease Control and Product Safety, Guangzhou 510642, P. R. China 4 USDA, Agriculture Research Service, Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory, East Lansing, MI 48823, U.S.A Correspondence to: Qingmei Xie, email: qmx@scau.edu.cn Keywords: ALV-J, RNA-Seq, differentially expressed genes, GADD45β, viral replication Received: June 20, 2016      Accepted: September 05, 2016      Published: September 15, 2016 ABSTRACT Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) is a retroviruses that induces neoplasia, hepatomegaly, immunosuppression and poor performance in chickens. The tumorigenic and pathogenic mechanisms of ALV-J remain a hot topic. To explore anti-tumor genes that promote resistance to ALV-J infection in chickens, we bred ALV-J resistant and susceptible chickens (F3 generation). RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) of liver tissue from the ALV-J resistant and susceptible chickens identified 216 differentially expressed genes; 88 of those genes were up-regulated in the ALV-J resistant chickens (compared to the susceptible ones). We screened for significantly up-regulated genes ( P < 0.01) of interest in the ALV-J resistant chickens, based on their involvement in biological signaling pathways. Functional analyses showed that overexpression of GADD45β inhibited ALV-J replication. GADD45β could enhance defense against ALV-J infection and may be used as a molecular marker to identify ALV-J infections.