Expression of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) M protein from a recombinant plasmid prolongs the survival of NDV-infected chicken embryos and enhances the virus replication.

Abstract

To explore the role of M protein in the replication of NDV in chicken embryos, the M gene was cloned and inserted into plasmid pcDNA4.0. Western blot analysis showed that the M protein was expressed in DF-1 cells after transfection with M gene plasmid. Chicken embryonated eggs inoculated with the M gene plasmid and 2 days later infected with NDV showed 10 times higher hemagglutination (HA) titers and an increased survival of the embryos as compared with the embryos inoculated with the empty plasmid. These data indicated that the expression of M protein in the NDV-infected chicken embryos primarily prolonged their survival and consequently enhanced virus replication.