The phosphorylation of the N protein could affect PRRSV virulence in vivo

Chen, Yao; Yu, Zhiqing; Yi, Heyou; Wei, Yingfang; Han, Xiaoliang; Li, Qi; Ji, Chihai; Huang, Junmin; Deng, Qiwei; Liu, Yixin; Cai, Mengkai; He, Shuyi; Ma, Chunquan; Zhang, Guihong

The porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV) nucleocapsid (N) protein is a multiphosphorylated protein.It has been proved that the phosphorylation of N protein could regulate the growth ability of PRRSV in Marc-145 cells. However, further investigation is needed to determine whether phosphorylation of the N protein could affect PRRSV virulence in piglets. In this study, we confirmed that the mutations could impair PRRSV replication ability in porcine primary macrophages (PAMs) as they did in Marc-145 cells. The animal experiments suggested that the pathogenicity of the mutated virus (A105-120) was significantly reduced compared with parent strain (XH-GD). Our results suggested that the phosphorylation of the N protein contributes to virus replication and virulence. This study is the first to identify a specific modification involved in PRRSV pathogenicity. Mutation of PTMs sites is also a novel way to attenuate PRRSV virulence. The mutations could be a marker in a vaccine. In conclusion, our study will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of PRRSV pathogenicity.