Li J1, Wang S1, Li C1, Wang C1, Liu Y1, Wang G1, He X1, Hu L1, Liu Y1, Cui M1, Bi C1, Shao Z1, Wang X2, Xiong T2, Cai X3, Huang L4, Weng C5

Vet Microbiol. 2017 May;204:35-42

Abstract

Highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) infection often predisposes pigs to secondary bacterial infection, which induces robust inflammatory responses. However, whether the secondary bacterial infection synergizes HP-PRRSV infection and enhances inflammatory responses is not fully understood. Here, we characterized HP-PRRSV infection-mediated secondary bacterial infection and robust inflammatory responses. HP-PRRSV infection induced higher levels of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6 and TNF-α) in the sera in piglets and bacterial loads of 11 bacterial species in the lung were increased after HP-PRRSV infection, including Mycoplasma hyorhinis, Haemophilus parasuis and Escherichia coli. Concurrent infection with HP-PRRSV and H. parasuis model showed that inflammatory cytokines expression and secretion in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) were increased in comparison with PAMs infected with HP-PRRSV or H. parasuis alone. Additionally, we found that H. parasuis RNA plays an important role in the robust inflammatory response enhancement in HP-PRRSV-infected PAMs. Taken together, our findings suggest that bacterial RNA transfection enhanced HP-PRRSV-mediated inflammatory responses in HP-PRRSV and H. parasuis (HPS) concurrent infection, which provides an important clue for comprehensive understanding of HP-PRRSV and bacterial coinfection-mediated pathology.