Compare of differential expression profiles of PEDV-susceptible and non-susceptible cell lines at the transcriptome level to identify key molecules associated with PEDV entry

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious virus that poses a serious threat to the global pig industry. Despite extensive research efforts, the functional receptor for PEDV remains unclear. In this study, we identified susceptible and non-susceptible cell lines to PEDV infection, and performed RNA-seq analysis on these cell lines. Using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), we have identified the key pathways that correlated with the PEDV entry pathway. We found that cholesterol, sterols, and lipid transport and homeostasis were strongly correlated with PEDV entry, suggesting a potential role for cholesterol in PEDV entry. We then treated susceptible cell lines with a cholesterol transport inhibitor and found that inhibition of cholesterol transport could significantly inhibit PEDV entry in these cells. Together, our results suggest that cholesterol transport may play a critical role in the entry of PEDV into susceptible cells, and that targeting cholesterol transport may represent a potential strategy for controlling PEDV transmission. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism of PEDV entry and may pave the way for the development of new therapeutic strategies against this economically important virus. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the detailed mechanism of PEDV entry, and to explore the potential of cholesterol transport inhibitors as a means of controlling PEDV transmission. Overall design: To investigate the functional receptor for PEDV,we identified susceptible and non-susceptible cell lines to PEDV infection, and performed RNA-seq analysis on these cell lines. Using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify the key pathways that correlated with the PEDV entry pathway.