Based on the RNA-seq data of chicken spleen tissues infected with J subgroup avian leukosis virus (ALV-J), we found that prolactin (PRL) gene was one of differentially expressed gene. We measured ALV-J viremia and PRL levels in the plasma of two groups of ALV-J-infected adult chickens. Furthermore, recombinant chicken PRL (cPRL) was used to assess how cPRL affects ALV-J virus replication both in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that PRL levels in the plasma of adult chickens infected with ALV-J were lower than those of uninfected chickens, and that the difference was more significant in the avian leukemia pathological apparent changes. Notably, the fluctuations in PRL levels might influence the disappearance of ALV-J viremia in chickens. The in vitro results showed that preincubating DF-1 cells with cPRL before ALV-J infection elicited the best antiviral effects. Moreover, these effects were not dose-dependent. in vivo, injection of cPRL into ALV-J-infected chicks could reduce the levels of viremia at the 14 days post infection (dpi). Additionally, the expression of the interferon-stimulated genes oligoadenylate synthetase-like (OSAL) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) increased, and that of the proinflammatory cytokine-encoding TNTα, IL-1β, and IL-6 genes decreased in the spleens of ALV-J-infected chicks injected with cPRL, leading to inhibition of viral replication at the 7 dpi. Collectively, our data demonstrated that PRL plays an important antiviral role in the immune response to ALV-J infection. This is the first report of the relationship between ALV-J infection and PRL. It is of great significance for the prevention and control of ALV-J.

基于感染J亚群禽白血病病毒（ALV-J）的鸡脾组织的RNA-seq数据，我们发现催乳素（PRL）基因是差异表达基因之一。我们测量了两组感染 ALV-J 的成年鸡的血浆中的 ALV-J 病毒血症和 PRL 水平。此外，重组鸡 PRL (cPRL) 用于评估 cPRL 如何影响 ALV-J 病毒在体内和体外的复制. 结果表明，感染ALV-J的成年鸡血浆PRL水平低于未感染鸡，且在禽白血病病理明显变化方面差异更为显着。值得注意的是，PRL 水平的波动可能会影响鸡中 ALV-J 病毒血症的消失。体外结果表明，在 ALV-J 感染前将 DF-1 细胞与 cPRL 预孵育可产生最佳的抗病毒效果。此外，这些影响不是剂量依赖性的。在体内，将 cPRL 注射到 ALV-J 感染的小鸡中可以降低感染后 14 天 (dpi) 的病毒血症水平。此外，干扰素刺激的基因寡腺苷酸合成酶样( OSAL ) 和注射 cPRL 的 ALV-J 感染鸡的脾脏中血管活性肠肽( VIP ) 增加，编码促炎细胞因子的TNTα、IL-1β和IL-6基因减少，导致病毒复制受到抑制。 7dpi。总的来说，我们的数据表明 PRL 在对 ALV-J 感染的免疫反应中起着重要的抗病毒作用。这是首次报道 ALV-J 感染与 PRL 之间的关系。对ALV-J的防控具有重要意义。