Studies on the clinical symptoms, virus distribution, and mRNA expression of several antiviral immunity-related genes in grass carp after infection with genotype II grass carp reovirus.

The viral hemorrhage disease caused by grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is a serious contagious disease of grass carp that mainly infects fingerlings and yearlings. Epidemiological studies have shown that GCRV genotype II is currently the prominent genotype. However, little is known about the histopathological characteristics, virus distribution, and expression of immunity-related genes in grass carp infected by GCRV genotype II. In this study, we found that grass carp infected by GCRV genotype II lost appetite, swam alone, and rolled, and their fins, eyes, operculum, oral cavity, abdomen, intestine, and muscles showed pronounced punctate hemorrhage. Congestion, swelling, deformation, thinning of membranes, dilatation and darkened color of nucleoli, cathepsis, erythrocyte infiltration, and vacuole formation were observed in some infected tissues. A qRT-PCR test showed that the 11 genome segments of GCRV had similar expression patterns in different tissues. The S8 segment, with unknown function and no homologous sequences, had the highest expression level, while the most conserved segment, L2, had the lowest expression level. GCRV particles were distributed in different tissues, especially in the intestine. In the infected intestine, the expression of various receptors and adaptor molecules was modulated at different levels. Pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) expression was 2160.9 times higher than that in the control group. The upregulation of immunity-related genes activated the antiviral immunity pathways. Therefore, the intestine might play a dual role in mediating GCRV infection and the antiviral immune response. This study provides detailed information about the pathogenicity of GCRV and expression of immunity-related genes, laying the foundation for further research on virus control and treatment.