Splenic transcriptomic profiling reveals innate immune responses and RIG-I-like receptor signaling in goslings infected with goose astrovirus

Goose astrovirus (GAstV) is an important pathogen associated with visceral gout, growth retardation, and mortality in goslings, whereas the splenic response to infection remains poorly understood. In this study, GAstV-infected goslings showed positive viral RNA detection in spleen tissues, obvious splenomegaly, and histopathological lesions. Transcriptomic analysis identified 383 differentially expressed genes, including 243 upregulated and 140 downregulated genes. Functional enrichment analyses showed that these genes were mainly involved in antiviral defense, innate immune responses, complement and coagulation cascades, and the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway. GSEA further supported the enrichment of the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway in infected spleens. Notably, several genes related to this pathway, including DDX58 , IFIH1 , TRIM25 , and IRF3 , were markedly upregulated and were also identified as hub genes in the protein–protein interaction network. RT-qPCR validation further confirmed the upregulation of these hub genes in GAstV-infected spleens, corroborating the transcriptomic findings. Collectively, these findings indicate that GAstV infection is associated with splenic lesions and extensive transcriptional reprogramming in goslings, and suggest that RIG-I-like receptor-related antiviral signaling may be involved in the splenic innate immune response to GAstV infection. This study provides new transcriptomic insight into the innate immune responses associated with GAstV infection.