Critical role of cellular cholesterol in bovine rotavirus infection

Background: Bovine rotavirus (BRV) is a non-enveloped dsRNA virus that cause neonatal calf diarrhea. Lipid rafts are cholesterol-enrich membrane mircodomains that play a vital role in many cellular processes. In this study, the effect of cellular cholesterol depletion on infection of MA-104 cells with bovine rotavirus was investigated. Results: We demonstrated that cholesterol depletion of the plasma membrane by M beta CD had no effect on BRV binding to cells but significantly impaired BRV entry in a dose-dependent manner and the effect was partially reversed by addition of exogenous cholesterol, suggesting the reduction of BRV infection by M beta CD was specifically due to cholesterol depletion. Cholesterol depletion after virus entry did not reduce BRV replication, whereas affected virus assembly. Conclusions: Taken together, our results demonstrate that cell membrane cholesterol is essential to BRV infectivity.