Screening of Bombyx mori brain proteins interacting with protein tyrosine phosphatase of BmNPV

In this study, glutathione-S-transferase pull-down combined with mass spectrometry techniques were used to identify the candidate proteins interacting with protein tyrosine phosphatase of the Bombyx Mori nucleopolyhedrovirus in the B. mori (BmNPV-PTP) brain. A total of 36 proteins were identified from BmNPV-PTP coprecipitate samples by searching the NCBI_Bombyx Mori database with the original mass spectrum data. Among those proteins, the interaction between BmNPV-PTP and B. mori cyclophilin A may accelerate the apoptosis of certain nerve cells involved in regulating behavior, and thus may be an inducer of enhanced locomotor activity (ELA). After the BmNPV invasion, BmNPV-PTP binding to peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors may initiate a series of abnormal cascades of the nervous system, which results in abnormal hyperactive behavior in B. mori. Besides this, vacuolar ATP synthase catalytic subunit A, annexin, and several enzymes for energy conversion were identified, which may play a role in enhancing viral entry and infectivity and provide energy for enhancing the locomotor activity of B. mori. In general, the results of this study will facilitate the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the ELA of B. mori larva induced by BmNPV.