PCV2 infection activates the cGAS/STING signaling pathway to promote IFN-β production and viral replication in PK-15 cells

Abstract

PCV2 is a single-stranded DNA virus that we previously found to induce IFN-β production via RIG-I and MDA-5. cGAS is known to be the most important DNA sensor for the recognition of cytosolic DNA; however, it remains unclear whether the interferon production induced by PCV2 is associated with cGAS. In the present study, PCV2 infection was found to increase the level of cGAS and STING expression, promote the release of cyclic dinucleotide cGAMP, and induce STING dimerization and translocation into the nucleus of PK-15 cells. These findings indicate that PCV2 infection activates both cGAS and STING. Furthermore, the knockdown of cGAS and STING decreased both the mRNA expression and promoter activity of IFN-β, demonstrating that the cGAS/STING signaling pathway contributes to the production of IFN-β. In addition, a knockdown of cGAS and STING also decreased the PCV2 viral load and infectivity. Therefore, PCV2 infection activates the cGAS/STING signaling pathway to induce IFN-β production and the knockdown of cGAS and STING decreases viral replication in PK-15 cells. These results provide further insight into the relationship between PCV2 and host innate immunity.