LAUSR

Abstract As a conserved signaling pathway, Wnt/&bgr;‐catenin signaling pathway participates in many physiological activities, including cell differentiation, apoptosis and so on. &bgr;‐catenin is the key molecule of Wnt/&bgr;‐catenin signaling pathway and plays a pivotal role. In this article, a &bgr;‐catenin homolog from Litopenaeus vannamei (designed as Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin) was cloned and its role in WSSV infection was investigated. Sequence analysis suggested that Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin had characters of &bgr;‐catenin family. Semi‐quantitative RT‐PCR showed that Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin transcripted in all detected tissues. In the subsequent WSSV infection experiments, it was found that the transcription levels of Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin were down‐regulated, as well as the expression levels. Immunofluorescence assay further confirmed that WSSV could reduce the amount of Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin and promoted Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin to translocate into the nucleus. Moreover, we found that WSSV could influence the amount of Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin by ubiquitination. While Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin was up‐regulated by a &bgr;‐catenin activator GSK‐3 Inhibitor IX, the transcription of virus immediate early gene WSSV069 was significantly inhibited. In addition, it was found that Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin could interact with WSSV069. Conclusively, our study provided evidences that &bgr;‐catenin may participate in the WSSV infection, and Wnt/&bgr;‐catenin signal pathway may play an important role in immune regulation. HighlightsLv‐&bgr;‐catenin transcription and expression were significantly up‐regulated upon WSSV challenge.WSSV infection promote Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin transfer into nucleus.Ubiquition of Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin was increased under WSSV challenge.Activtion of Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin decreased viral gene transcription.Lv‐&bgr;‐catenin could interact with WSSV069.