Classical swine fever (CSF) caused by the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) has resulted in severe losses to the pig industry worldwide. It has been proposed that lipid synthesis is essential for viral replication, and lipids are involved in viral protein maturation and envelope production. However, the specific crosstalk between CSFV and host cell lipid metabolism is still unknown. In this study, we found that CSFV infection increased intracellular cholesterol levels in PK-15 cells. Further analysis demonstrated that CSFV infection upregulated PCSK9 expression to block the uptake of exogenous cholesterol by LDLR and enhanced the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, which disrupted the type I IFN response in PK-15 cells. Our findings provide new insight into the mechanisms underpinning the pathogenesis of CSFV and hint at methods for controlling the disease.
Keywords: cholesterol biosynthesis; classical swine fever virus (CSFV); lipid metabolism.