Abstract
African swine fever virus (ASFV) infection can result in lethal disease in pigs. ASFV encodes 150-167 proteins, of which only approximately 50 encoded viral structure proteins are functionally known. ASFV also encodes some nonstructural proteins that are involved in the regulation of viral transcription, viral replication and evasion from host defense. However, the understanding of the molecular correlates of the severity of these infections is still limited. The purpose of this study was to compare host and viral gene expression differences and perform functional analysis in acutely infected, dead and cohabiting asymptomatic pigs infected with ASFV by using RNA-Seq technique; healthy pigs were used as controls. A total of 3,760 and 2,874 upregulated genes and 4,176 and 2,899 downregulated genes were found in healthy pigs vs. acutely infected, dead pigs or asymptomatic pigs, respectively. Additionally, 941 upregulated genes and 956 downregulated genes were identified in asymptomatic vs. acutely infected, dead pigs. Different alternative splicing (AS) events were also analyzed, as were gene chromosome locations, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network prediction analysis was performed for significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In addition, 30 DEGs were validated by RT-qPCR, and the results were consistent with the RNA-Seq results. We further analyzed the interaction between ASFV and its host at the molecular level and predicted the mechanisms responsible for asymptomatic pigs based on the selected DEGs. Interestingly, we found that some viral genes in cohabiting asymptomatic pigs might integrate into host genes (DP96R, I73R and L83L) or remain in the tissues of cohabiting asymptomatic pigs. In conclusion, the data obtained in the present study provide new evidence for further elucidating ASFV-host interactions and the ASFV infection mechanism and will facilitate the implementation of integrated strategies for controlling ASF spread.