Comparative RNA sequencing analysis of three Capripoxvirus infections in an immortalized hTERT-bOEC cell model

Capripoxviruses (CaPVs), such as lumpy skin disease, sheep pox, and goat pox, cause significant production and economic losses and are major constraints to the growth of livestock production in endemic areas. Understanding the pathogenic mechanism of CaPVs and their translation into clinical applications depends on the availability of a suitable cell line. In this study, we used a lentiviral packaging system to establish an immortalized hTERT-bOEC cell line by ectopic introduction of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). Western blotting, indirect immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry analyses revealed that hTERT was successfully integrated into the genome of hTERT-bOEC cells. Crucially, this hTERT-bOEC cell line was highly susceptible to LSDV, SPPV, and GTPV infections. Establishing hTERT-bOECs is critical for basic research, clinical application, and vaccine development related to CaPVs. Furthermore, RNA-seq analyses revealed a similar differential expression of genes and enrichment of signaling pathways to CaPV infections in hTERT-bOECs. Real-time quantitative qPCR further confirmed the top five up-regulated and down-regulated differentially expressed genes among the CaPV infections. Transcriptome analyses provide deep insight into the biological characteristics of the replication process in CaPV infections.