Nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPV) induce the expression of small heat shock protein 25.4 in Antheraea pernyi

• A small heat shock protein, HSP25.4, was identified from A. pernyi.
• The transcript level of Ap-sHSP25.4 was up-regulated with NPV infection.
• Eicosanoids mediated Ap-sHSP25.4 gene expression upon NPV injection in a dose dependent manner.

Nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPVs) is one group of Baculoviruses. The infection of NPV in silkworm is often lethal. To investigate the effective measures to stop the infection of NPV, we cloned cDNA encoding small heat shock protein 25.4 in Antheraea pernyi (Ap-HSP25.4). The translated amino acid sequence consisted of 223 residues with a calculated molecular mass of 25.4 kDa and an isoelectronic point (pI) of 4.93. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to investigate the expression patterns and distribution profiles of Ap-sHSP25.4 before and after challenged with NPV. We found that the inhibitors of eicosanoid synthesis could suppress the transcription of Ap-sHSP25.4 in the fat body in a dose dependent manner. And arachidonic acid induced the expression of Ap-sHSP25.4. Thus, we concluded that sHSPs may be promising candidates to boost insect immunity in practice.