[Objective] To explore the autophagy induced by the African swine fever virus (ASFV) protein E423R. [Methods] The RFP-LC3 fluorescent spots following the transfection of HeLa-DifluoTM hLC3 cells with pCMV-Myc-E423R was quantified by the High-Content Analysis System, and the autophagic flux was assessed. The expression levels of key autophagy proteins, LC3-Ⅱ and SQSTM1/p62, in HeLa cells were analyzed via Western blotting. Co-localization of autophagosomes and lysosomes was examined by laser confocal microscopy. Additionally, Western blotting was employed to investigate the dose-dependent effect of E423R on LC3-Ⅱ expression and the regulatory effect of E423R on the AKT/mTOR/ULK1 signaling pathway. [Results] The High-Content Analysis System demonstrated a significant increase in RFP-LC3 fluorescence spots in the reporter cells expressing E423R, suggesting that E423R induced the activation of autophagy. Western blotting further confirmed that the expression of E423R significantly elevated the LC3-Ⅱ/β-actin ratio while decreasing the expression level of p62. Confocal microscopy results indicated that E423R enhanced the expression of GFP-LC3, promoted the co-localization of GFP-LC3 with Lyso-Tracker Red, and facilitated the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes. Additionally, the expression level of E423R exhibited a positive correlation with the expression level of LC3-Ⅱ in HeLa cells. Furthermore, E423R down-regulated the expression of p-AKT, p-mTOR, and p-ULK1 (Ser757) in the mTOR signaling pathway. [Conclusion] This study demonstrates that the ASFV E423R protein induces complete autophagy via the AKT/mTOR/ULK1 signaling pathway, exhibiting a dose-dependent effect on LC3-Ⅱ expression to a certain degree. These findings provide a foundation for further investigation into the infection and pathogenic mechanisms of ASFV.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |