Down-regulating CD19 surface markers expression correlates with infectious bursal disease virus replication

The infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) causes an acute and highly contagious immunosuppressive response in young chickens by targeting B lymphocytes in immune organs. Changes in regulatory T-cell ratio and apoptosis have been demonstrated during IBDV infection in these cells. The possible change in CD19 expression as the precursor of B cells after IBDV replication was detected in this study. Raji cells were infected with an IBDV isolate at MOIs of 1.0 and 3.0. The viral kinetics were determined using the characteristic virus-induced CPE, cell viability, and infectious titer. Induction of apoptosis and also changes in the CD19 expression within the virus infection were assessed by flow cytometry. The Raji cells were found to be susceptible to IBDV infection by producing marked CPEs dependent on MOI. The infectivity titers were determined in intra- and extracellular samples at the defined hours. The kinetics of early IBDV replication in Raji cells were nearly identical for both MOIs, but a significant difference in the infectivity titer was observed at 48 hpi. The quick apoptotic events were observed to be significantly higher in MOI 3.0, which was correlated with the lower virus titer. A significant CD19 expression change in the IBDV-infected Raji cells was revealed. The results suggested that Raji cells mimic the IBDV replication in lymphoid organs and the virus replication is related to CD19 expression frequencies in the lymphoid cells.