Butyrate induces higher host transcriptional changes to inhibit porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection in porcine intestine epithelial cells

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a serious threat to the health of newborn piglets and has a major impact on the pig industry. Butyrate is an abundant metabolite produced by gut microbiota, which regulates intestinal function through different mechanisms to modulate intestinal function in order to enhance intestinal barrier and immune function. In this study, we aimed to determine the host transcriptional profile of PEDV infection affected by high concentrations of butyrate. Our findings showed that butyrate has a higher inhibitory activity against PEDV infection. RNA-seq results suggested that butyrate induces a wider range of host transcriptional changes and that it may exert resistance to PEDV infection through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, we provide an experimental basis and theoretical foundation for the development of new strategies to exert the antiviral infection effects of butyrate in the future.