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Airway protease/antiprotease imbalance in atopic asthmatics contributes to increased influenza A virus cleavage and replication
Citation:
Kesic, M., M. Hernandez, AND I. Jaspers. Airway protease/antiprotease imbalance in atopic asthmatics contributes to increased influenza A virus cleavage and replication. Respiratory Research in operated by BioMed Central Limited. BioMed Central Ltd, London, Uk, 13:82, (2012).
Impact/Purpose:
Because asthmatics are more susceptible to respiratory viral infectIons [5] and are thought to be under Increased oxidative stress [6], we hypothesize that the disruption in the protease/antiprotease balance in airways results in increased influenza viral cleavage and replication in subjects with allergic asthma (AA). Since the nasal passage is the primary site of infection for several common viruses Including influenza, we characterized the protease/antiprotease balance in nasal lavage fluid (NLF) from healthy volunteers (HVs) and AAs.
Description:
Asthmatics are more susceptible to influenza infections, yet mechanisms mediating this enhanced susceptibility are unknown. Influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein binds to sialic add residues on the host cells. HA requires cleavage to allow fusion of the viral HA with host cell membrane, which is mediated by host trypsin-like serine protease. We show data here demonstrating that the protease:antiprotease ratio is increased in the nasal mucosa of asthmatics and that these changes were associated with increased proteolytic activation of influenza. These data suggest that disruption of the protease balance in asthmatics enhances activatIon and infection of influenza virus.
