scholarly journals A mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 model for the evaluation of COVID-19 medical countermeasures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Dinnon ◽  
Sarah R. Leist ◽  
Alexandra Schäfer ◽  
Caitlin E. Edwards ◽  
David R. Martinez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
New Host ◽  
Binding Interface ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Medical Countermeasures ◽  
Ifn Lambda

AbstractCoronaviruses are prone to emergence into new host species most recently evidenced by SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Small animal models that recapitulate SARS-CoV-2 disease are desperately needed to rapidly evaluate medical countermeasures (MCMs). SARS-CoV-2 cannot infect wildtype laboratory mice due to inefficient interactions between the viral spike (S) protein and the murine ortholog of the human receptor, ACE2. We used reverse genetics to remodel the S and mACE2 binding interface resulting in a recombinant virus (SARS-CoV-2 MA) that could utilize mACE2 for entry. SARS-CoV-2 MA replicated in both the upper and lower airways of both young adult and aged BALB/c mice. Importantly, disease was more severe in aged mice, and showed more clinically relevant phenotypes than those seen in hACE2 transgenic mice. We then demonstrated the utility of this model through vaccine challenge studies in immune competent mice with native expression of mACE2. Lastly, we show that clinical candidate interferon (IFN) lambda-1a can potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in primary human airway epithelial cells in vitro, and both prophylactic and therapeutic administration diminished replication in mice. Our mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 model demonstrates age-related disease pathogenesis and supports the clinical use of IFN lambda-1a treatment in human COVID-19 infections.

scholarly journals Eosinophil Responses at the Airway Epithelial Barrier during the Early Phase of Influenza a Virus Infection in C57BL/6 Mice

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meenakshi Tiwary ◽  
Robert J. Rooney ◽  
Swantje Liedmann ◽  
Kim S. LeMessurier ◽  
Amali E. Samarasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Epithelial Barrier ◽  
Virus Infectivity ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
In Vivo Models

Eosinophils, previously considered terminally differentiated effector cells, have multifaceted functions in tissues. We previously found that allergic mice with eosinophil-rich inflammation were protected from severe influenza and discovered specialized antiviral effector functions for eosinophils including promoting cellular immunity during influenza. In this study, we hypothesized that eosinophil responses during the early phase of influenza contribute to host protection. Using in vitro and in vivo models, we found that eosinophils were rapidly and dynamically regulated upon influenza A virus (IAV) exposure to gain migratory capabilities to traffic to lymphoid organs after pulmonary infection. Eosinophils were capable of neutralizing virus upon contact and combinations of eosinophil granule proteins reduced virus infectivity through hemagglutinin inactivation. Bi-directional crosstalk between IAV-exposed epithelial cells and eosinophils occurred after IAV infection and cross-regulation promoted barrier responses to improve antiviral defenses in airway epithelial cells. Direct interactions between eosinophils and airway epithelial cells after IAV infection prevented virus-induced cytopathology in airway epithelial cells in vitro, and eosinophil recipient IAV-infected mice also maintained normal airway epithelial cell morphology. Our data suggest that eosinophils are important in the early phase of IAV infection providing immediate protection to the epithelial barrier until adaptive immune responses are deployed during influenza.

The wound healing capacity of undifferentiated and differentiated airway epithelial cells in vitro

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 163-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia M. Schwartz ◽  
Braedyn A. Dorn ◽  
Selam Habtemariam ◽  
Cynthia L. Hill ◽  
Tendy Chiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Airway Epithelial

scholarly journals Responses of Airway Epithelium to Environmental Injury: Role in the Induction Phase of Childhood Asthma

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh K. Kumar ◽  
Jessica S. Siegle ◽  
Gerard E. Kaiko ◽  
Cristan Herbert ◽  
Joerg E. Mattes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Asthma ◽  
Childhood Asthma ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Immunological Response ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Induction Phase ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
Allergic Sensitisation

The pathogenesis of allergic asthma in childhood remains poorly understood. Environmental factors which appear to contribute to allergic sensitisation, with development of a Th2-biased immunological response in genetically predisposed individuals, include wheezing lower respiratory viral infections in early life and exposure to airborne environmental pollutants. These may activate pattern recognition receptors and/or cause oxidant injury to airway epithelial cells (AECs). In turn, this may promote Th2 polarisation via a “final common pathway” involving interaction between AEC, dendritic cells, and CD4+ T lymphocytes. Potentially important cytokines produced by AEC include thymic stromal lymphopoietin and interleukin-25. Their role is supported by in vitro studies using human AEC, as well as by experiments in animal models. To date, however, few investigations have employed models of the induction phase of childhood asthma. Further research may help to identify interventions that could reduce the risk of allergic asthma.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Human Coronavirus EMC: How Scared Should We Be?

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renee W. Y. Chan ◽  
Leo L. M. Poon
Keyword(s):  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Type I ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
Human Coronavirus ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Human Airway Epithelium ◽  
Mammalian Cell Lines ◽  
Physiological Relevance

ABSTRACT A novel betacoronavirus, human coronavirus (HCoV-EMC), has recently been detected in humans with severe respiratory disease. Further characterization of HCoV-EMC suggests that this virus is different from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) because it is able to replicate in multiple mammalian cell lines and it does not use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a receptor to achieve infection. Additional research is urgently needed to better understand the pathogenicity and tissue tropism of this virus in humans. In their recent study published in mBio, Kindler et al. shed some light on these important topics (E. Kindler, H. R. Jónsdóttir, M. Muth, O. J. Hamming, R. Hartmann, R. Rodriguez, R. Geffers, R. A. Fouchier, C. Drosten, M. A. Müller, R. Dijkman, and V. Thiel, mBio 4[1]:e00611-12, 2013). These authors report the use of differentiated pseudostratified human primary airway epithelial cells, an in vitro model with high physiological relevance to the human airway epithelium, to characterize the cellular tropism of HCoV-EMC. More importantly, the authors demonstrate the potential use of type I and type III interferons (IFNs) to control viral infection.

scholarly journals In Vitro Investigations on Optimizing and Nebulization of IVT-mRNA Formulations for Potential Pulmonary-Based Alpha-1-Antitrypsin Deficiency Treatment

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1281
Author(s):  
Shan Guan ◽  
Max Darmstädter ◽  
Chuanfei Xu ◽  
Joseph Rosenecker
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Transfection Efficiency ◽  
Genetic Diseases ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
Significant Toxicity ◽  
Antitrypsin Deficiency ◽  
Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency ◽  
Alpha 1 Antitrypsin

In vitro-transcribed (IVT) mRNA has come into focus in recent years as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of genetic diseases. The nebulized formulations of IVT-mRNA-encoding alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT-mRNA) would be a highly acceptable and tolerable remedy for the protein replacement therapy for alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency in the future. Here we show that lipoplexes containing A1AT-mRNA prepared in optimum conditions could successfully transfect human bronchial epithelial cells without significant toxicity. A reduction in transfection efficiency was observed for aerosolized lipoplexes that can be partially overcome by increasing the initial number of components. A1AT produced from cells transfected by nebulized A1AT-mRNA lipoplexes is functional and could successfully inhibit the enzyme activity of trypsin as well as elastase. Our data indicate that aerosolization of A1AT-mRNA therapy constitutes a potentially powerful means to transfect airway epithelial cells with the purpose of producing functional A1AT, while bringing along the unique advantages of IVT-mRNA.

scholarly journals Asthma-associated genetic variants induce IL33 differential expression through an enhancer-blocking regulatory region

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivy Aneas ◽  
Donna C. Decker ◽  
Chanie L. Howard ◽  
Débora R. Sobreira ◽  
Noboru J. Sakabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Studies ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
Enhancer Blocking ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated the IL33 locus in asthma, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we identify a 5 kb region within the GWAS-defined segment that acts as an enhancer-blocking element in vivo and in vitro. Chromatin conformation capture showed that this 5 kb region loops to the IL33 promoter, potentially regulating its expression. We show that the asthma-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1888909, located within the 5 kb region, is associated with IL33 gene expression in human airway epithelial cells and IL-33 protein expression in human plasma, potentially through differential binding of OCT-1 (POU2F1) to the asthma-risk allele. Our data demonstrate that asthma-associated variants at the IL33 locus mediate allele-specific regulatory activity and IL33 expression, providing a mechanism through which a regulatory SNP contributes to genetic risk of asthma.

Ozone-induced release of cytokines and fibronectin by alveolar macrophages and airway epithelial cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (6) ◽  
pp. L612-L619 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Devlin ◽  
K. P. McKinnon ◽  
T. Noah ◽  
S. Becker ◽  
H. S. Koren
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Alveolar Macrophages ◽  
Airway Epithelial Cells ◽  
Airway Hyperreactivity ◽  
Ozone Exposure ◽  
Airway Epithelial ◽  
Human Airway ◽  
Human Airway Epithelial Cells

Acute exposure of animals and humans to ozone results in decrements in lung function, development of airway hyperreactivity, inflammation, edema, damage to pulmonary cells, and production of several compounds with tissue damaging, fibrinogenic or fibrotic potential. The contribution of airway epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages to these processes is unclear. In this study we have directly exposed human alveolar macrophages and human airway epithelial cells to ozone in vitro and measured the cytotoxic effects of ozone, as well as the production of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8), and fibronectin, all of which are substantially elevated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of humans exposed to ozone. Cells were grown on rigid, collagen-impregnated filter supports, and the interaction of cells with ozone facilitated by exposing them to the gas with medium below the support but no medium on top of the cells. The results show that, although macrophages are much more sensitive to ozone than epithelial cells, they do not produce increased amounts of IL-6, IL-8, or fibronectin following ozone exposure. In contrast, epithelial cells produce substantially more of all three proteins following ozone exposure, and both IL-6 and fibronectin are secreted vectorially. An immortalized human airway epithelial cell line (BEAS 2B) was used in these experiments since human airway epithelial cells are infrequently available for in vitro studies. Data from this study extend previous findings which suggest that the BEAS cell line is a useful model to study the interaction between airway epithelial cells and environmental toxicants.

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