The Very Virulent IBDV Viral Protein VP3 Promotes the Caspase-3 Mediated Cleavage of GSDME

< 0.01) following vvIBDV infection, indicating a close association with vvIBDV-induced tissue lesions. Further studies demonstrated that Caspase-3 could cleave GSDME at conserved sites (D270), releasing the active N-terminal fragment (GSDME-N) to induce pyroptosis. Furthermore, although IBDV proteins cannot directly cleave GSDME, the viral protein VP3 enhances Caspase-3-mediated GSDME cleavage, thereby triggering pyroptosis. The above results reveal the role of GSDME-dependent pyroptosis in the pathogenesis of IBDV and provide new ideas for the prevention and control strategies against IBDV.