Inhibition of cellular fatty acid synthase impairs replication of budded virions of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus in Spodoptera frugiperda cells

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) catalyzes the synthesis of palmitate, which is required for formation of complex fatty acids and phospholipids that are involved in energy production, membrane remodeling and modification of host and viral proteins. Presently, the roles of cellular fatty acid synthesis pathway in Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) infection is not clear. In this study, we found that the transcripts level of fasn was significantly up-regulated at the early stage of AcMNPV infection. Treatment of AcMNPV-infected Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 cells with C75, a specific inhibitor of FASN, did not affect the internalization of budded virions into cells, but dramatically reduced the infectious AcMNPV production. Further analysis revealed that the presence of C75 significantly decreased the expression level for two reporter genes, beta-galactosidase and beta-glucuronidase, that were separately directed by the early and late promoter of AcMNPV. Similarly, Western blot analysis showed that, in C75-treated cells, the expression of viral gp64 was delayed and decreased. Additionally, treatment with C75 also resulted in a significant reduction in the accumulation of viral genomic DNA. Together, these results demonstrate that the fatty acid synthesis pathway is required for efficient replication of AcMNPV, but it might not be necessary for AcMNPV entry into insect cells.