Analyses of long non-coding RNA and mRNA profiling in the spleen of diarrheic piglets caused by Clostridium perfringens type C

Zunqiang Yan; Xiaoyu Huang; Wenyang Sun; Qiaoli Yang; Hairen Shi; Tiantuan Jiang; Shenggui Li; Pengfei Wang; Shuangbao Gun

doi:10.7717/peerj.5997

Analyses of long non-coding RNA and mRNA profiling in the spleen of diarrheic piglets caused by Clostridium perfringens type C

PeerJ. 2018 Nov 30:6:e5997. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5997. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Zunqiang Yan¹, Xiaoyu Huang¹, Wenyang Sun¹, Qiaoli Yang¹, Hairen Shi¹, Tiantuan Jiang², Shenggui Li¹, Pengfei Wang¹, Shuangbao Gun^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
² Gansu Research Center for Swine Production Engineering and Technology, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.

Abstract

Background: Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) type C is the most common bacteria causing piglet diarrheal disease and it greatly affects the economy of the global pig industry. The spleen is an important immune organ in mammals; it plays an irreplaceable role in resisting and eradicating pathogenic microorganisms. Based on different immune capacity in piglets, individuals display the resistance and susceptibility to diarrhea caused by C. perfringens type C. Recently, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNA have been found to be involved in host immune and inflammatory responses to pathogenic infections. However, little is known about spleen transcriptome information in piglet diarrhea caused by C. perfringens type C.

Methods: Hence, we infected 7-day-old piglets with C. perfringens type C to lead to diarrhea. Then, we investigated lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in spleens of piglets, including control (SC), susceptible (SS), and resistant (SR) groups.

Results: As a result, 2,056 novel lncRNAs and 2,417 differentially expressed genes were found. These lncRNAs shared the same characteristics of fewer exons and shorter length. Bioinformatics analysis identified that two lncRNAs (ALDBSSCT0000006918 and ALDBSSCT0000007366) may be involved in five immune/inflammation-related pathways (such as Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, and Jak-STAT signaling pathway), which were associated with resistance and susceptibility to C. perfringens type C infection. This study contributes to the understanding of potential mechanisms involved in the immune response of piglets infected with C. perfringens type C.

Keywords: Clostridium perfringens type C; Diarrhea; LncRNA; Spleen; Swine.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31660646). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.