Abstract
Integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier is closely related to the occurrence of diarrhea. As an important component protein of the intestinal mucosal barrier, Mucin 2 (MUC2) plays a critical role in preventing the invasion of pathogens, toxins, and foreign bodies. In the present study, we preliminary verified the function of the porcine MUC2 gene in resisting porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection and investigated the effect of DNA methylation in the promoter region on MUC2 gene expression. The results showed that after PEDV infection, the intestinal mucosal barrier was damaged. Moreover, MUC2 expression was significantly higher in PEDV-infected piglets than in healthy piglets (P < 0.01). The mRNA expression of MUC2 was significantly higher in PEDV-infected IPEC-J2 cells than in non-infected IPEC-J2 cells (P < 0.05). Methylation of the mC-5 site in the MUC2 promoter inhibited the binding of Yin Yang 1 (YY1) to the promoter, down regulated the expression of MUC2 and increased the susceptibility of piglets to PEDV. In conclusion, this study suggests that MUC2 plays an essential regulatory role in PEDV infection. High MUC2 expression improves the resistance of pigs to PEDV infection. The binding of YY1 to the MUC2 promoter is hindered by the methylation of the mC-5 site, which downregulates MUC2 expression and ultimately affects the resistance of pigs to PEDV infection.
Highlights
Porcine epidemic diarrhea is a highly infectious intestinal disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)
We analyzed the pathogens of PEDV, transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine rotavirus (PoRV), and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) of 7-day-old piglets with typical clinical symptoms of epidemic diarrhea and selected four 7-day-old piglets infected with PEDV and four healthy piglets feeding in the same conditions
PCR was used to ensure that the piglets in the normal group were not infected with PEDV and the piglets in the diarrhea group were only infected with PEDV
Summary
Porcine epidemic diarrhea is a highly infectious intestinal disease caused by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). PEDV invades the intestinal epithelial cells and destroys the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier, causing severe diarrhea and resulting in the death of the infected pigs [1]. The integrity of the intestinal mucosa is essential to resist PEDV infection. The intestine acts as the body’s largest immune organ in addition to its functions of digestion and absorption, and a complete intestinal mucosal barrier can resist 99% of infections [2]. Mucin 2 (MUC2) produced by intestinal goblet cells was the major secreted mucin to be identified. Antibodies, defensins, and water, MUC2 forms the intestinal mucus layer, which constitutes a chemical barrier against external pathogens [3, 4].
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