In Vitro Characterization of chIFITMs of Aseel and Kadaknath Chicken Breeds against Newcastle Disease Virus Infection

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Aseel and Kadaknath are indigenous chicken breeds in India. Due to their distinctiveness, these two breeds are becoming more important. Aseel has a reputation for cockfighting and having high-quality meat. The black flesh of Kadaknath is famous, and it is mostly raised for its meat and eggs. Both breeds have heat and disease tolerances. The chicken interferon-inducible transmembrane protein (chIFITM) genes function by preventing the entry of viruses into host cells, inhibiting viral replication, and controlling the viral load. This research was conducted to ascertain the level of chIFITM gene expression against the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in chicken embryo fibroblast cells of both breeds. There are five members of the chIFITM gene family: chIFITM1, chIFITM2, chIFITM3, chIFITM5, and chIFITM10. chIFITM1, 2, and 3 have immune-related activity; as a result, these three are referred to as immune-related IFITM (IR-IFITM). All the chIFITM genes were shown to be highly expressed in the CEF cells of both breeds during our investigation. The Kadaknath CEF cells had a significantly low viral load and a high quantity of mRNAs for the chIFITM genes when the breeds were compared. Aseel cells demonstrated an earlier onset of NDV-induced cytopathic changes compared to Kadaknath. ABSTRACT: Newcastle disease (ND) is highly contagious and usually causes severe illness that affects Aves all over the world, including domestic poultry. Depending on the virus’s virulence, it can impact the nervous, respiratory, and digestive systems and cause up to 100% mortality. The chIFITM genes are activated in response to viral infection. The current study was conducted to quantify the mRNA of chIFITM genes in vitro in response to ND viral infection. It also examined its ability to inhibit ND virus replication in chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells of the Aseel and Kadaknath breeds. Results from the study showed that the expression of all chIFITM genes was significantly upregulated throughout the period in the infected CEF cells of both breeds compared to uninfected CEF cells. In CEF cells of the Kadaknath breed, elevated levels of expression of the chIFITM3 gene dramatically reduced ND viral growth, and the viral load was 60% lower than in CEF cells of the Aseel breed. The expression level of the chIFITMs in Kadaknath ranged from 2.39 to 11.68 log(2) folds higher than that of control CEFs and was consistently (p < 0.01) higher than Aseel CEFs. Similar to this, theIFN-γ gene expresses strongly quickly and peaks at 13.9 log(2) fold at 48 hpi. Based on these cellular experiments, the Kadaknath breed exhibits the potential for greater disease tolerance than Aseel. However, to gain a comprehensive understanding of disease resistance mechanisms in chickens, further research involving in vivo investigations is crucial.