Abstract
To investigate the antiviral effect of lithium chloride (LiCl) on the replication of Marek’s disease virus (MDV) in chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cells, real-time PCR, Western blotting, plaque counting, and indirect immunofluorescence experiments were performed at different time points of LiCl treated CEF cells with virus infection. The results demonstrated that LiCl could affect multiple steps of virus replication and inhibit viral gene expression and protein synthesis in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, LiCl could directly affect viral infectivity as well. In addition, LiCl significantly affected the gene expression of IFN-β related genes in virus-infected cells. These results indicate that LiCl significantly inhibits MDV replication and proliferation in CEF cells and it has the potential to be used as an antiviral agent against MDV.
Highlights
Marek’s disease (MD) is a highly contagious disease characterized by the proliferation of T lymphoid tissue cells caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV) belonging to the Family Herpesviridae [1]
In order to study the mechanism of LiCl inhibition on MDV infection, three time points related to the addition of LiCl (P1: before MDV (1000 pfu) infection, P2: during MDV infection, and P3: after MDV infection) were used, similar to our previous report [21]
We found that LiCl down regulated IFN-β, IRF7, and OASL gene expression in chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cells infected with MDV (Figure 5)
Summary
Marek’s disease (MD) is a highly contagious disease characterized by the proliferation of T lymphoid tissue cells caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV) belonging to the Family Herpesviridae [1]. Effective vaccination using live attenuated vaccines can prevent clinical MD, but has limited effect on virus replication and shedding [5,6]. This is thought to be one of the reasons for the continuous evolution of MDV virulence and emergence of hypervirulent pathotypes of the virus [7]. The earliest evidence that lithium had an effect on viral infection came from the antiviral effect of LiCl on herpes simplex virus. 2021, 22, 12375 dence that lithium had an effect on viral infection came from the antiviral effect of LiCl on herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection [14,15].
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