Differential cellular protein expression in continuous porcine alveolar macrophages regulated by the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus nucleocapsid protein

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a leading cause of significant economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. PRRSV infects preferentially porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) and subsequently utilizes the host cell biosynthetic machinery for its own replication. To date, a number of studies have been conducted to investigate compensatory changes of cellular gene expression of PAMs upon PRRSV infection. However, very little information exists about differential cellular protein expression of the natural target cells regulated by each viral protein. This study was therefore designed to examine the dynamics of host protein expression of continuous PAM cells by the PRRSV nucleocapsid (N) protein that is the most abundant and multifunctional viral component. We first established sublines of PAM cells to stably express the PRRSV N protein and assessed alterations in cellular protein productions of N-expressing PAM (PAM-pCD163-N) cells at different time courses by the use of proteomic analysis. A total of 23 protein spots were initially found to be differentially expressed in PAM-pCD163-N cells compared with normal PAM cells by high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE). Of these spots, 15 protein spots with statistically significant alteration, including 4 up-regulated and 11 down-regulated protein spots, were picked out for subsequent protein identification by peptide mass fingerprinting after matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). The altered cellular proteins identified in this study were classified into the functions involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell division, metabolism, inflammation response, stress response, ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, protein folding and synthesis, and transportation. Notably, heat shock 27 kDa protein (HSP27) was found to be up-regulated in PAM-pCD163-N cells. The proteomics data will provide insights into the specific cellular response to the N protein during PRRSV infection.