HMGCR inhibits the early stage of PCV2 infection, while PKC enhances the infection at the late stage

•PKC and HMGCR participated in different stage of PCV2 infection.•HMGCR works on the early stage of the infection to inhibit the virus infection, while PKC enhances the infection at the late stage.•PKC enhances PCV2 proliferation by activating JNK1/2 and inactivating HMGCR.•HMGCR can suppress phosphorylation of JNK1/2. Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the smallest DNA virus, which causes porcine circovirus diseases and porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVD/PCVAD). Due the small size of viral genomic DNA, PCV2 replication predominantly relies on the host factors. In this study, effects of PKC and HMGCR on PCV2 infection were evaluated using real time PCR and western blot. We found that PKC and HMGCR participated in different stages of PCV2 infection. HMGCR works on the early stage of the infection to inhibit the virus infection, while PKC enhances the infection at the late stage. Furthermore, PKC enhances PCV2 replication by activating JNK1/2 and inactivating HMGCR via regulating phosphorylation of these two proteins, while HMGCR can suppress phosphorylation of JNK1/2. The results in the present study will provide new sights in the pathogenesis of PCV2 infection, as well as interactions between host factors during PCV2 infection.