Alterations in cellular and viral microRNA and cellular gene expression in Marek's disease virus-transformed T-cell lines treated with sodium butyrate

ABSTRACT A shared feature of herpesviruses is their ability to enter a latent state following an initially lytic infection. Marek's disease virus serotype 1 (MDV-1) is an oncogenic avian herpesvirus. Small RNA profiling studies have suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in viral latency. Sodium butyrate treatment is known to induce herpesvirus reactivation. The present study was undertaken to determine transcriptome and miRNome changes induced by sodium butyrate in 2 MDV-transformed cell lines, RP2 and CU115. In the first 24 h post-treatment, microarray analysis of transcriptional changes in cell lines RP2 and CU115 identified 137 and 114 differentially expressed genes, respectively. Small RNA deep-sequencing analysis identified 17 cellular miRNAs that were differentially expressed. The expression of MDV-encoded miRNAs was also altered upon treatment. Many of the genes and miRNAs that are differentially expressed are involved in regulation of the cell cycle, mitosis, DNA metabolism, and lymphocyte differentiation.