Tembusu virus induced apoptosis in vacuolate spermatogenic cells is mediated by Cytc-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic signaling pathway

Yufei Huang; Yafei Zhang; Sheng Yang; Yonghong Shi; Xiaoya Chu; Nisar Ahmed; Jingxian Wu; Qiusheng Chen

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.12.014

Tembusu virus induced apoptosis in vacuolate spermatogenic cells is mediated by Cytc-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic signaling pathway

Theriogenology. 2024 Feb:215:312-320. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.12.014. Epub 2023 Dec 17.

Authors

Yufei Huang¹, Yafei Zhang², Sheng Yang¹, Yonghong Shi³, Xiaoya Chu², Nisar Ahmed⁴, Jingxian Wu², Qiusheng Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210095, PR China; Institute of Comparative Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225009, PR China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225009, PR China.
² MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210095, PR China.
³ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210095, PR China; Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 200241, PR China.
⁴ Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, PR China.
⁵ MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210095, PR China. Electronic address: chenqsh305@njau.edu.cn.

PMID: 38128224
DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2023.12.014

Abstract

Duck Tembusu virus (DTMUV) is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus that infects mainly poultry and has caused huge economic losses to the poultry farming industry in China. Also known as duck hemorrhagic ovarian disease, DTMUV principally destroys ovarian tissue in ducks, causing a dramatic drop in egg production. and can also invade the male reproductive system causing lesions. Currently, little research has been done to reveal the underlying mechanisms of reproductive dysfunction in ducks caused by DTMUV infection. In this study, histopathological analysis and electron microscopy of testes of ducks infected with DTMUV showed that DTMUV caused testicular atrophy and cytoplasmic vacuolation in ducks. Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-Mediated Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) staining and real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR) results further indicated that DTMUV induced spermatogenic cells apoptosis. After DTMUV infection, a large amount of cytochrome c(Cytc) was released from the mitochondrial matrix into the cytoplasm, activating downstream target proteins and causing apoptosis. To sum up, DTMUV induces spermatogenic cell apoptosis through the Cytc-induced mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, our study provides evidence for DTMUV infection-induced male reproductive disorders.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Cytochrome c; Duck tembusu virus; Spermatogenic cells; Testis.

MeSH terms

Animals
Apoptosis
Ducks
Flavivirus Infections* / veterinary
Flavivirus*
Male
Poultry Diseases*
Signal Transduction

Supplementary concepts

Tembusu virus