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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1532678

ASFV infection induces lipid metabolic disturbances and promotes viral replication

Provisionally accepted
Xuefei Chu Xuefei Chu 1Shengqiang Ge Shengqiang Ge 2,3,4Yingchao Li Yingchao Li 1Qin Zhang Qin Zhang 1Xinyu Cui Xinyu Cui 1Yuanyuan Zuo Yuanyuan Zuo 2Ruihong Li Ruihong Li 2Hongtao Sun Hongtao Sun 2Lei Yin Lei Yin 5Zhenzhong Wang Zhenzhong Wang 2Jinming Li Jinming Li 2Zhiliang Wang Zhiliang Wang 2,5Yihong Xiao Yihong Xiao 1*
  • 1 Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
  • 2 China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center, Qingdao, China
  • 3 Qingdao Key Laboratory of Modern Bioengineering and Animal Disease Research, Qingdao, China
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Animal Biosafety Risk Warning Prevention and Control (South China), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qingdao, China
  • 5 Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    African swine fever is a highly transmissible and lethal infectious disease caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV), which has considerably impacted the global swine industry. Lipid metabolism plays a vital role in sustaining lipid and energy homeostasis within cells and influences the viral life cycle. In this study, we found that ASFV infection disrupts lipid metabolism in the host. Transcriptomic analysis of cells infected with ASFV revealed that the levels of lipid metabolism significantly changed as the duration of the infection progressed. The intracellular cholesterol levels of the host exhibited a pattern similar to the viral growth curve during the course of infection. Notably, increased cholesterol levels promoted ASFV replication in host cells, whereas inhibition of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway markedly reduced intracellular ASFV replication.The findings of this study showed that ASFV led to lipid metabolism disturbances to facilitate its replication, which is useful for revealing the mechanism underlying ASFV infection.

    Keywords: African Swine Fever Virus, Lipid Metabolism, Cholesterol, Lipid synthesis, Transcriptomic Analysis

    Received: 22 Nov 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chu, Ge, Li, Zhang, Cui, Zuo, Li, Sun, Yin, Wang, Li, Wang and Xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yihong Xiao, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.