Impacts of allergic airway inflammation on lung pathology in a mouse model of influenza A virus infection

by Akira Kawaguchi, Tadaki Suzuki, Yuki Ohara, Kenta Takahashi, Yuko Sato, Akira Ainai, Noriyo Nagata, Masato Tashiro, Hideki Hasegawa Influenza A virus is the respiratory pathogen responsible for influenza. Infection by the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus caused severe lower airway inflammation and pneumonia. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways that affects the entire brachial tree, and was one of the commonest underlying medical conditions among patients hospitalized with the 2009 pandemic influenza virus infection. Although respiratory virus infections are the major causes of asthma exacerbation, the mechanism by which influenza exacerbates asthma is poorly understood. Animal models of disease comorbidity are crucial to understanding host-pathogen interactions and elucidating complex pathologies. Existing murine models of influenza virus infection in asthmatics show that asthmatic mice are highly resistant to influenza virus infection, which contradicts clinical observations in humans. H ere, we developed a murine model of influenza virus/asthma comorbidity using NC/Nga mice, which are highly sensitive to allergic reactions such as atopic dermatitis and allergic airway inflammation. This model was then used to examine the impact of allergic airway inflammation on lung pathology in t he 2009 pandemic influenza virus infected mice. The results showed that induction of acute allergic airway inflammation in pre-existing influenza virus infection ha...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research