Profiling of Apoptosis-Related Genes in Erythrocytes of Chickens Infected with Avian Influenza Virus (H9N2 Subtype)

Avian influenza virus (H9N2) is one of the major cause of illness in chickens with potential threats to human health. Chicken erythrocytes are known as most abundant circulating cells in the body which participate in inflammation and immune responses. Influenza viruses interact with the host cells at cell surface, leading to cell death in human and animals through apoptosis. Current study was designed to investigate the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes in the H9N2 infected chicken erythrocytes. qRT-PCR and Western blot techniques were performed to determine the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes including Bax, Bcl-2 BAG-1, BAG-3 and STAT3 in H9N2 infected erythrocytes of chickens for incubation time intervals of 0, 2, 6 and 10 h. The expression of all the genes related to apoptosis were significantly up-regulated at different time periods, except of Bcl-2 which was significantly down-regulated at 6 and 10 h of infection. To conclude, there are alterations in expression levels of apoptosis-related genes in chicken's erythrocytes at different time intervals that are highly related to the development of H9N2 infection. This study may provide a new biomarker to detect H9N2 infection in chickens.