Inhibition of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus replication by short hairpin RNA in MARC-145 cells

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is one of the most important contagious agents of swine in the world. The current vaccines cannot provide highly effective protection. In this study, the ability of specific short hairpin RNA directed against different genomic regions of PRRSV to inhibit virus replication in MARC-145 cells was examined. Seven plasmids expressing shRNA targeted to GP5 and nucleocapsid (N) protein coding region of PRRSV S1 strain RNA were constructed and delivered into MARC-145 cells. After infection, these cells, transfected with plasmids pSUPER-N3 or pSUPER-G1, showed a significant decrease in virus yield when compared to control cells, by detection using virus titers (TCID50), indirect immunofluorescence assay and real-time RT-PCR. The antiviral effect was sequence-specific and dose-dependent and could sustain for 96 h. Furthermore, by combination of treatment with plasmid pSUPER-N3 and pSUPER-G1, the viral inhibition cloud be significantly increased. In addition, the viral suppression efficiency by shRNA in previously infected cells was not significant different from that induced by shRNA before viral infection. It indicated that administration of the two different shRNA could have a synergistic effect. RNA interference targeting to the various regions of PRRSV might be a potential alternative virus control strategy.