Prevention of influenza virus induced bacterial superinfection by standardized Echinacea purpurea, via regulation of surface receptor expression in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Prevention of influenza virus induced bacterial superinfection by standardized Echinacea purpurea, via regulation of surface receptor expression in human bronchial epithelial cells. Virus Res. 2017 Mar 06;: Authors: Selvarani V, Roland S, Andy S, James H Abstract Viral infections may predispose the airways to secondary bacterial infections that can lead to unfavorable progression of principally self-limiting illnesses. Such complicated respiratory infections include pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, acute otitis media, and sepsis, which cause high morbidity and lethality. Some of the pathogenic consequences of viral infections, like the expression of bacterial adhesion receptors and the disturbance of physical barrier integrity due to inflammation, may create permissive conditions for co-infections. Influenza virus A (H3N2) is a major pathogen that causes secondary bacterial infections and inflammation that lead to pneumonia. The herbal medicine Echinacea purpurea, on the other hand, has been widely used to prevent and treat viral respiratory infections, and recent clinical data suggest that it may prevent secondary infection complications as well. We investigated the role of standardized E. purpurea (Echinaforce(®) extract or EF) on H3N2-induced adhesion of live nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and Staphylococcus aureus, along with the expression of bacterial receptors, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), fibronect...
Source: Virus Research - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Virus Res Source Type: research