Avian oncogenic herpesvirus antagonizes the cGAS-STING DNA-sensing pathway to mediate immune evasion
Fig 8
Meq deficiency facilitates IFN-β induction and host CD8+ T cell responses.
(A-C) Chickens were infected with 2000 PFUs of wild-type MDV (MDV-WT) or Meq-deficient MDV (MDV-dMeq), and the mRNA levels of IFN-β (A), chicken ZAP (chZAP) (B), and chicken IFN-inducible transmembrane protein 3 (chIFITM3) (C) in the spleen samples were measured by real-time qPCR at the indicated times postinfection. (D) The CEFs transduced with Meq-specific small hairpin RNAs (shMeq) or a control shRNA (shNC) were infected with MDV (MOI = 0.01) for 48 h before the detection of MDV viral titers with real-time qPCR. (E) The indicated cells were infected with wild-type MDV or MDV-dMeq, respectively, and the MDV viral titers were tested using a plaque assay at the indicated time points after infection. (F) One-day-old specific pathogen-free chickens were left untreated or inoculated with MDV-WT or MDV-dMeq, and virus genome copy numbers in the spleen were monitored by real-time qPCR at the indicated time points. (G) Chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes were obtained to analyze the percentage of CD8+ T cells at the indicated time points after infection. (H) The survival rate of chickens after infection. *: p < 0.05, **: p < 0.01, ***: p < 0.001; ns: no significant difference.