Avian Interferon-Inducible Transmembrane Protein Family Effectively Restricts Avian Tembusu Virus Infection

Chen, Shilong; Wang, Long; Chen, Jieying; Zhang, Lanlan; Wang, Song; Goraya, Mohsan U.; Chi, Xiaojuan; Na, Yang; Shao, Wenhan; Yang, Zhou; Zeng, Xiancheng; Chen, Shaoying; Chen, Ji-Long

Our previous studies had shown that ATMUV infection effectively triggers the host innate immune response, including robust upregulation of type I and type III IFNs and some critical ISGs in chicken and CEF (Chen et al., 2016a) . However, innate immune response against ATMUV infection in duck still remains to be determined. Importantly, the role of IFITMs in defending against ATMUV infection has not been well-defined in any avian species. Here, we examined the expression profile of IFNs and IFITMs in parenchymal organs of ducks infected with ATMUV using qRT-PCR and RT-PCR analysis. The results showed that ATMUV has higher replication in duckling spleen tissues, as indicated by obvious expression of viral E gene ( Figure 1A ; Supplementary Figure 1 ). Remarkably, the mRNA levels of type I and type III IFNs were gradually elevated and reached their maximum value on 24 hpi and then declined gradually.