Exploration of PDCoV-induced apoptosis through mitochondrial dynamics imbalance and the antagonistic effect of SeNPs

Advances research in porcine enteric coronavirus therapies and antiviral drugs

The porcine enteric coronaviruses (PECs) currently reported include porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), and swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV). In the absence of effective treatment, they can cause similar clinical characteristics including weight loss, sleepiness, vomiting, anorexia and fatal diarrhea in neonatal piglets, resulting in significant economic losses to the global pig industry. Although many studies on drugs for treating and combating PECs have been issued. There are still no specific drug targeting PECs and used in clinical production. Therefore, it is necessary to sort out and summarize the research on the treatment and anti PECs drugs, and further development of low toxicity and high efficiency drugs is needed. Here, we review the latest progress of anti PECs drugs, focus on the mechanism of anti PECs reaction of drug components, and try to clarify new strategies for effective control and elimination of PECs. These comprehensive and profound insights will help to further investigate, prevent and control the transmission of PECs infection.

Comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of porcine intestinal epithelial cells after PDCoV infection

Introduction

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), an emerging swine enteropathogenic coronavirus with worldwide distribution, mainly infects newborn piglets with severe diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and even death, causing huge economic losses to the pig industry. However, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of PDCoV infection and the effects of PDCoV infection on host transcripts and metabolites remain incompletely understood.

Methods

This study investigated a combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) following PDCoV infection by LC/MS and RNA-seq techniques. A total of 1,401 differentially expressed genes and 254 differentially accumulated metabolites were detected in the comparison group of PDCoV-infected vs. mock-infected.

Results and discussion

We found that PDCoV infection regulates gene sets associated with multiple signaling pathways, including the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, MAPK signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, ras signaling pathway and so on. Besides, the metabolomic results showed that biosynthesis of cofactors, nucleotide metabolism, protein digestion and absorption, and biosynthesis of amino acid were involved in PDCoV infection. Moreover, integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses revealed the involvement of ferroptosis in PDCoV infection, and exogenous addition of the ferroptosis activator erastin significantly inhibited PDCoV replication. Overall, these unique transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming features may provide a better understanding of PDCoV-infected IPEC-J2 cells and potential targets for antiviral treatment.

Synthesis and pharmacodynamic evaluation of Dihydropteridone derivatives against PDCoV in vivo and in vitro

Porcine Delta Coronavirus (PDCoV) infection can induce serious dehydration, diarrhea and even death of piglets, which has caused huge losses to the breeding industry. PDCoV has been reported to have the potential for cross species transmission, and even reports of infecting humans have emerged. At present, there are still no effective prevention and control measures for PDCoV. In this study, we have designed and synthesized a series of unreported Dihydropteridone derivatives. All of these compounds were evaluated for the against PDCoV in vivo and in vitro for the first time. In this study, antiviral activity (17.34 ± 7.20 μM) and low cytotoxicity (>800 μM) was found in compound W8. Compound W8 exerts antiviral effect on PDCoV by inhibiting cell apoptosis and inflammatory factors caused by virus infection in vitro. In addition, lung and small intestinal lesions caused by PDCoV infection in mice could be significantly reduced by compound W8. These findings highlight the potential of compound W8 as a valuable therapeutic option against PDCoV infection, and lay a foundation for further research and development in this field.

Chlorogenic acid inhibits porcine deltacoronavirus release by targeting apoptosis

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), belonging to family Coronaviridae, genus Deltacoronavirus, can cause acute diarrhea in piglets, and also possesses cross-species transmission potential, leading to severe economic losses and threatening public health. However, no approved drug against PDCoV infection is available. Here, we investigated the antiviral effect of chlorogenic acid (CGA), the main active component of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos, against PDCoV infection. The results showed that CGA inhibited the replication of PDCoV significantly both in LLC-PK1 and ST cells, with a selectivity index greater than 80. CGA decreased the synthesis of PDCoV viral RNA and protein, and viral titers in a dose-dependent manner. The results of the time-of-addition assay indicated that CGA mainly affected the early stage of virus replication and viral release. Moreover, CGA significantly reduced apoptosis caused by PDCoV infection, and the application of apoptosis agonist and inhibitor revealed that apoptosis could promote progeny virus release. Further study demonstrated that CGA can inhibit virus release by directly targeting apoptosis caused by PDCoV infection. In conclusion, CGA is an effective agent against PDCoV, which provides a foundation for drug development for the treatment of PDCoV and other coronavirus infections.