VGLL4 Promotes EV71 Virus Proliferation and Accelerates the Apoptosis of Infected RD Cells

Abstract Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major pathogens causing hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) which affects public health increasingly. Apoptosis plays an important role in EV71 infection, but the molecular mechanism involved in EV71 induced apoptosis is not completely clear. VGLL4 is a multifunctional protein in host cells, which has been studied in tumor and cell apoptosis, but has not been reported in pathogen. In this study, the mammalian eukaryotic expression plasmid of VGLL4 fused with HA tag (HA-VGLL4) and the model of overexpression VGLL4 RD cells were successfully constructed. The effect of VGLL4 on the proliferation of EV71 was detected by western-blot assay, fluorescence quantitative PCR and cytotoxicity assay (CCK assay), and the mechanism of its effect on the proliferation of the virus was researched. The experimental results showed that VGLL4 may promote the replication of EV71 by promoting the apoptosis of infected cells. VGLL4 can be an important target for prevention and treatment of EV71 infection.