Production of porcine aminopeptidase N (pAPN) site‐specific edited pigs

Chen, Jianwen; Pan, Kaiyuan; Chen, Zhen; Li, Yunsheng; Ding, Biao; Han, Chunyang; Cao, Zubing; Bao, Wenbin; Zhang, Yunhai

Porcine viral diarrhea is an acute and highly contagious enteric disease in pigs which causes huge economic losses in pig industry worldwide. Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is main pathogens responsible for piglets viral diarrhea. Knockout the host cellular surface receptor for TGEV may be an effective way to accelerate the breeding of resistant pigs. In this study, we applied site‐specific editing pAPN which is effective in swine testis (ST) cells. Site‐specific editing of pAPN reduced TGEV proliferation in ST cells by 96%–99% at different time periods post‐infection. Next, the site‐specific editing of pAPN porcine fetal fibroblasts were produced, and then the cell colonies were used as donor cells to generate the site‐specific editing of pAPN pigs. Our research findings will not only offer a more thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of piglet diarrhea and lay the foundation for breeding TGEV‐resistant piglets, but also understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in coronaviral infections.