Differential mucins gene expression between respiratory human paramyxovirus infections (VIR5P.1142)

Abstract

Abstract Mucin (MUC) proteins are the main component of mucus and constitute part of the innate immune response. High production of mucins and mucus is characteristic in inflammatory lung diseases. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Human Metapneunovirus (hMPV) are RNA viruses belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family and represent the most important cause of severe lung diseases such as pneumonia and bronchiolitis in young children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Although these viruses are close-related, the host immune response elicited by them is widely different. In this work we evaluated the lung gene expression of secreted (MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC5B, MUC8 and MUC19) and cell surface (MUC1, MUC3, MUC4, MUC13, MUC15, MUC16, MUC20, MUC21 and MUC22) mucins by qRTPCR in human epithelial cells infected with RSV or hMPV. Our data indicate that the MUC expression by RSV and hMPV differ significantly, as we observed a stronger induction of MUC8, MUC15, MUC20, MUC21 and MUC22 by RSV infection at 48 and 72 h than by hMPV. On the other hand, the expression of MUC2, MUC5B and MUC1 was dominated by the infection with hMPV at the same time points. No significant MUC5AC, MUC19, MUC3, or MUC13 expression was observed after any of the infections. Together, these data indicate that RSV appears to be a stronger inducer of MUC response than hMPV and suggest that MUC expression contribute to the differential immune response induced by these two major human respiratory viruses