Hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) is caused by fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) and has resulted in considerable economic losses to the poultry industry globally. FAdV-4 elicits apoptosis in host cells. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulatory RNAs with profound effects on various biological processes, including apoptosis. However, it remains unknown whether lncRNAs participate in FAdV-4-induced apoptosis. In this study, RNA sequencing was applied to determine the transcription of cellular lncRNA in leghorn male hepatocellular (LMH) cells infected with FAdV-4. Cellular RNA transcription analysis demonstrated that FAdV-4 infection elicited 1798 significantly differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs in infected LMH cells at 24 h post-infection (hpi) compared to mock control infection. In addition, 2873 DE mRNAs were also found. Target prediction and analyses revealed that 775 DE lncRNAs whose 671 target mRNAs were among the DE mRNAs were involved in several signaling pathways, including the AMPK signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway and insulin signaling pathway. From these 775 DE lncRNAs, we identified 71 DE lncRNAs related to apoptosis based on their target gene functions. Subsequently, lncRNA 54128 was selected from the 71 identified DE lncRNAs, and its role in FAdV-4-induced apoptosis was verified. LncRNA 54128 interference significantly suppressed the rate of apoptosis, which was accompanied by reduced BMP4 transcription levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze host lncRNA transcription during FAdV-4 infection. Our findings provide a better understanding of host responses to FAdV-4 infection and provide new directions for understanding the potential association between lncRNAs and FAdV-4 pathogenesis.
Keywords: RNA-seq; apoptosis; fowl adenovirus serotype 4; leghorn male hepatocellular cells; long noncoding RNA.