Identification of signaling pathways induced by porcine parvovirus in porcine kidney-15 cells based on weighted correlation network analysis

Abstract

Porcine parvovirus (PPV) is an important trigger of reproductive issues in pigs. Infection of the porcine kidney-15 (PK-15) cells with PPV induces cell death and inflammation. To explore the impact of PPV infection on gene expression in PK-15 cells and to identify the associated signaling pathways, we performed weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) on both PPV-infected and uninfected cells. We identified the blue and brown modules, with the blue module demonstrating decreased gene expression and the brown module showing increased gene expression at 48 hr post-PPV induction. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis revealed that genes in the blue module were predominantly associated with cellular components, while those in the brown module were enriched in biological processes, including the immunological response to PPV infection. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of the modules indicated that the “Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction” was linked to PPV. Furthermore, we screened 124 target genes involved in more than 100 pathways that interact with C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), which plays an essential role in regulating numerous biological processes. The signaling pathways we identified facilitate a comprehensive examination of the mechanisms of interactions initiated by PPV infection.