Proteome dynamics in primary target organ of infectious bursal disease virus

Viruses induce dramatic changes in target tissue during pathogenesis, including host cellular responses that either limit or support the pathogen. The infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) targets primarily the bursa of Fabricius (BF) of chickens, causing severe immunodeficiency. Here, we characterized the cellular proteome changes of the BF caused by IBDV replication in vivo using 2DE followed MALDI-TOF MS identification. Comparative analysis of multiple 2DE gels revealed that the majority of protein expression changes appeared between 24 and 96 h after IBDV infection. MS identified 54 altered cell proteins, 12 of which were notably upregulated by IBDV infection. Meanwhile, the other 42 cellular proteins were considerably suppressed by IBDV infection and are involved in protein degradation, energy metabolism, stress response, host macromolecular biosynthesis, and transport process. The upregulation of β-actin and downregulation of dynamin during IBDV infection were also confirmed by Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis. These altered protein expressions provide a response profile of chicken BF to virulent IBDV infection. Further functional study on these altered proteins may lead to better understanding of pathogenic mechanisms of virulent IBDV infection and to new potential therapeutic targets.