Comprehensive analysis of mRNA Transcriptome Profiles in HepG2 Cells Expressing Genotype IV Swine Hepatitis E Virus ORF3

AbstractBackground Porcine hepatitis E is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by swine hepatitis E virus (HEV), open reading frames 3 is an important virulence protein of porcine HEV, which plays an important role in the release of viral particles and host innate immune response, regulation of autophagy and apoptosis, etc., but its main function and pathogenic mechanism are not perfect in current research. Results In our study, adenoviruses ADV4-ORF3 and ADV4-GFP were successfully constructed and mediated the overexpression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-ORF3 and EGFP in HepG2 cells. A total of 217 differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were screened by high-throughput sequencing, and 27 statistically significant differentially expressed genes were screened for further quantitative real-time reverse transcription (qRT-PCR) verification by functional enrichment (Gene Ontology [GO] and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes [KEGG]). They are mainly involved in 6 pathways: cellular response to unfolded protein, Inflammatory response, cytokine activity, TNF signaling pathway, Influenza A, and Pathways in cancer. Conclusions The differential genes were successfully verified, which laid a genetic foundation for the physiological function and mechanism of HEV ORF3