THURSDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection of bronchial cells induces transcript and protein overexpression of nerve growth factor, which may protect the cells against virus-induced apoptosis, but the same does not occur in nasal and tracheal cells, according to research published online July 31 in PLoS One.
Sreekumar Othumpangat, Ph.D., of the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, and colleagues infected human nasal, tracheal and bronchial epithelial cells in vitro with RSV and analyzed neurotrophic factor expression. Bronchial cells showed the highest infection rate compared to tracheal and nasal cells.
In RSV-infected bronchial cells, the researchers note that nerve growth factor (NGF) was significantly upregulated, with a nine-fold increase in the high-affinity NGF receptor trkA. These cells also showed downregulation of the low-affinity pan-neurotrophin receptor p75NTR. Tracheal cells showed an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor, trkA and trkB, and nasal cells had only increased trkA. Survival of bronchial cells decreased when NGF was depleted before the cells were infected with RSV.
"The different patterns of neurotrophin expression observed between cells of proximal and distal origin also imply that the biological mechanisms of RSV infection need to be carefully considered across anatomically distinct regions, as the cellular responses to this virus are significantly different. Pharmacologic modulation of neurotrophic factors or receptors, for example using novel strategies based on RNA interference methodology, may offer a promising new approach for the management of this common respiratory infection, although additional basic and clinical research work is needed," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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