Porcine epidemic viruses, such as pseudorabies virus (PRV) and porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2), are among the most economically damaging pathogens affecting the swine industry. Importantly, previous studies have shown that cases of human infection with PRV occur frequently, indicating the considerable risk of PRV transmission from pigs to humans. Zinc finger CCCH-type containing 11A (ZC3H11A) has been confirmed to play a crucial role in maintaining the nuclear export of mRNA under stress in humans, but its role in pigs remains unknown. In this study, we observed that ZC3H11A interacted with the transcription and export complex and played an important role in mRNA export. Specifically, we knocked out ZC3H11A in PK-15 cells with CRISPR/Cas9 and challenged them with PRV and PCV2. The results showed that the proliferation of the virus was significantly inhibited in ZC3H11A-/- cells, indicating that porcine ZC3H11A is indispensable for the proliferation of PRV and PCV2. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that the inactivation of ZC3H11A in host cells also inhibited the proliferation of PRV and PCV2. Taken together, the results of our study indicated that ZC3H11A is important for maintaining the export of mRNAs, which in turn facilitates the proliferation of PRV and PCV2, suggesting that it can be a potential target for producing antiviral pigs and drugs.
Keywords: CRISPR/Cas9; PCV2; PRV; RNA export; ZC3H11A.