Novel lncRNA 803 related to Marek’s disease inhibits apoptosis of DF-1 cells

ABSTRACT

Marek’s disease (MD) is a neoplastic disease that significantly affects the poultry industry. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial regulatory factors in various biological processes, including tumourigenesis. However, the involvement of novel lncRNAs in the course of MD virus (MDV) infection is still underexplored. Here, we present the first comprehensive characterization of differentially expressed lncRNAs in chicken spleen at different stages of MDV infection. A series of differentially expressed lncRNAs was identified at each stage of MDV infection through screening. Notably, our investigation revealed a novel lncRNA, lncRNA 803, which exhibited significant differential expression at different stages of MDV infection and was likely to be associated with the p53 pathway. Further analyses demonstrated that the overexpression of lncRNA 803 positively regulated the expression of p53 and TP53BP1 in DF-1 cells, leading to the inhibition of apoptosis. This is the first study to focus on the lncRNA expression profiles in chicken spleens during MDV pathogenesis. Our findings highlight the potential role of the p53-related novel lncRNA 803 in MD pathogenesis and provide valuable insights for decoding the molecular mechanism of MD pathogenesis involving non-coding RNA.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

• Differentially expressed lncRNAs in spleens of chickens infected with Marek’s disease virus at different stages were identified for the first time.

• The effects of novel lncRNA 803 on p53 pathway and apoptosis of DF-1 cells were reported for the first time.

KEYWORDS:

• lncRNA
• p53
• Marek’s disease
• apoptosis
• TP53BP1
• Marek’s disease virus

Acknowledgement

Furthermore, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Zhaobo Zhang from the University of Oxford for his invaluable assistance in revising and refining this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The sequencing data will be accessible with the following link after April 12, 2026: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/PRJNA825286.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 31772700, the Foundation of Key Laboratory of Livestock Infectious Diseases in Northeast China (Shenyang Agricultural University), Ministry of Education under Grant FKLID-2021-04 and the Scientific Research Fund Project of Liaoning Province under Grant LJKMZ20221012.