FIG 7.

Loss of PA-X expression increases the expression levels of apoptosis-associated genes in chicken lungs and enhances virus-induced cell death in CEF. (A) Heat maps show the hierarchical clustering of transcriptional profiles of apoptosis-related genes during infection with r-CK10 or CK-PAX3 at 12 or 24 h p.i. Clustering was performed by the hierarchical unweighted-pair group method using average linkages with a Euclidean distance measure. The expression of the genes for which data are displayed was changed ≥2-fold (P < 0.05) from that in mock-infected controls at least at one time point of infection. (B) Modeling of the apoptotic pathway in the lungs of chickens infected with CK-PAX3 at 24 h p.i. (red, upregulated; green, downregulated). (C and D) Quantitative analyses of wt or PA-X-deficient virus-induced apoptosis (C) and necrosis (D) by flow cytometry. Values are the proportions of total cells that are apoptotic or necrotic and are means ± SD for at least three independent experiments. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01.