Epinephelus coioides lnc32039 promotes the infection of iridovirus SGIV via inhibiting immune response and apoptosis.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in the infection of pathogen. In this study, the role of the lncRNA lnc32039 in Epinephelus coioides, the precious marine fish in China, was studied during Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) infection. The results demonstrated that SGIV infection upregulated the expression of lnc32039. Overexpressing lnc32039 could significantly exacerbate viral induced CPE, upregulate the expressions of viral key genes (MCP, ICP18, VP19, LITAF), and lnc32039 also significantly increased the emergence of progeny viruses by TCID50, while the opposite results were obtained during knockdown lnc32039. Overexpressing lnc32039 inhibited the expressions of the immune-related genes (IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, and TNF-α), the activities of the promoters NF-κB/AP-1; and inhibited SGIV-induced apoptosis by regulating the P53/Bax/Bcl-2 and caspase-3. These findings provide fundamental insights into the lncRNA-mediated regulatory network underlying antiviral immunity in teleosts.