Abstract
Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is a coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea in suckling piglets. TGEV primarily targets and infects porcine intestinal epithelial cells, which play an important role in nutrient absorption. However, the effects of TGEV infection on nutrient absorption in swine have not yet been investigated. In this study, we evaluated the impact of TGEV infection on arginine uptake using the porcine small intestinal epithelial cell line IPEC-J2 as a model system. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses showed that TGEV infection leads to reduced arginine uptake at 48 hours post-infection (hpi). Expression of cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT-1) was attenuated as well. TGEV infection induced activation of phospho-protein kinase C α (p-PKC α), phospho-epidermal growth factor receptor (p-EGFR), and enhanced the expression of caveolin-1, all of which appear to be involved in down-regulating arginine uptake and CAT-1 expression. These results illuminate the relationship between TGEV infection and nutrient absorption, and further our understanding of the mechanisms of TGEV infection.
Highlights
Transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) is a highly contagious enteric disease of pigs caused by TGE virus (TGEV), with mortality rates as high as 100% in piglets less than 2 weeks old [1, 2]
TGEV infection reduces cationic amino acid transporter (CAT)‐1 expression Arginine uptake is mediated by the CAT family of transporters. mRNA levels of cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT-1) and CAT-2 were quantified by RT-PCR
We showed that TGEV infection decreased the uptake of arginine in porcine small intestinal epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2) cells
Summary
Transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) is a highly contagious enteric disease of pigs caused by TGE virus (TGEV), with mortality rates as high as 100% in piglets less than 2 weeks old [1, 2]. TGEV infects the epithelial cells of the intestinal tract, resulting in villus atrophy and impaired absorption of nutrition [3, 4]. The porcine small intestinal epithelial cell line IPEC-J2 is an intestinal columnar epithelial cell line that was isolated from the mid-jejunum of a neonatal piglet [5]. IPEC-J2 cells are used for in vitro investigations of swine viruses and nutrition [6, 7]. An amino acid that is essential in neonates, is synthesized by enterocytes [8, 9]. Arginine is one of the most metabolically versatile amino acids, and serves as a precursor for synthesis of protein, nitric oxide, creatine, polyamines, agmatine, and urea, which mediate important regulatory functions that affect nutrient metabolism
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