MINI REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Veterinary and Zoonotic Infection
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1667956
This article is part of the Research TopicEmerging and re-emerging animal viruses: Advances in diagnosis, pathogenesis and control strategiesView all 4 articles
Autophagy and Porcine Circovirus Infection: A mini review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang Normal University Xingzhi College, Jinhua, China
- 2Wuhu Vocational Technical University, Wuhu, China
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Porcine circovirus (PCV), particularly PCV type 2 (PCV2), is a major pathogen driving porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD), causing significant economic losses in the swine industry. Accumulating evidence highlights autophagy as a critical host-pathogen interface during PCV infection. PCV2 activates autophagy through reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated signaling and metabolic regulators like the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/ mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) axis, creating a conducive environment for viral persistence. Concurrently, this virus exploits ubiquitin ligases to induce ubiquitination of cellular immune factors, promoting selective autophagy for immune evasion. Host factors, such as retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), act as restriction factors by counteracting viral strategies through autophagy modulation. Environmental stressors could exacerbate PCV2 pathogenesis by amplifying ROS-dependent autophagy, while interventions like taurine mitigate viral replication via ROS/AMPK/mTOR pathway inhibition. This mini-review synthesizes current understandings of PCV-autophagy crosstalk, emphasizing its critical role as a host vulnerability and therapeutic target. Understanding the intricate interplay between autophagy and PCV infection may unveil novel therapeutic targets, such as autophagy modulators, to mitigate viral replication and immune pathology.
Keywords: Autophagy, Porcine circovirus, virus-host interaction, viral replication, viral pathogenesis
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 22 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Chen and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ziding Yu, Wuhu Vocational Technical University, Wuhu, China
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