Typical gene expression profile of pseudorabies virus reactivation from latency in swine trigeminal ganglion

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) establishes a lifelong latent infection in swine trigeminal ganglion (TG) following acute infection. Increased corticosteroid levels, due to stress, increases the incidence of reactivation from latency. Muscle injection combined with intravenous deliver of the synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone (DEX) consistently induces reactivation from latency in pigs. In this study, PRV-free piglets were infected with PRV. Viral shedding in nasal and ocular swabs demonstrated that PRV infection entered the latent period. The anti-PRV antibody was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the serum neutralization test, which suggested that the PRV could establish latent infection in the presence of humoral immunity. Immunohistochemistry and viral genome detection of TG neurons suggested that PRV was reactivated from latency. Viral gene expressions of IE180, EP0, VP16, and LLT-intron were readily detected at 3-h post-DEX treatment, but gB, a γ1 gene, was not detectable. The differentially expressed phosphorylated proteins of TG neurons were analyzed by ITRAQ coupled with LC-MS/MS, and p-EIF2S2 differentially expression was confirmed by western blot assay. Taken together, our study provides the evidence that typical gene expression in PRV reactivation from latency in TG is disordered compared with known lytic infection in epithelial cells.