Viruses, Vol. 13, Pages 692: NLRP3-Inflammasome Inhibition during Respiratory Virus Infection Abrogates Lung Immunopathology and Long-Term Airway Disease Development

Viruses, Vol. 13, Pages 692: NLRP3-Inflammasome Inhibition during Respiratory Virus Infection Abrogates Lung Immunopathology and Long-Term Airway Disease Development Viruses doi: 10.3390/v13040692 Authors: Carrie-Anne Malinczak Charles F. Schuler Angela J. Duran Andrew J. Rasky Mohamed M. Mire Gabriel Núñez Nicholas W. Lukacs Wendy Fonseca Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infects most infants by two years of age. It can cause severe disease leading to an increased risk of developing asthma later in life. Previously, our group has shown that RSV infection in mice and infants promotes IL-1β production. Here, we characterized the role of NLRP3-Inflammasome activation during RSV infection in adult mice and neonates. We observed that the inhibition of NLRP3 activation using the small molecule inhibitor, MCC950, or in genetically modified NLRP3 knockout (Nlrp3−/−) mice during in vivo RSV infection led to decreased lung immunopathology along with a reduced expression of the mucus-associated genes and reduced production of innate cytokines (IL-1β, IL-33 and CCL2) linked to severe RSV disease while leading to significant increases in IFN-β. NLRP3-inflammasome inhibition or deletion diminished Th2 cytokines and inflammatory cell infiltration into the lungs. Furthermore, NLRP3 inhibition or deletion during early-life RSV infection led to reducing viral-exacerbated allergic response in a mouse model of RSV-induced allergy exacerbation. Here, we demonstrate...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research