Higazy D, Lin X, Xie T, Wang K, Gao X, Cui M. Altered gene expression in human brain microvascular endothelial cells in response to the infection of influenza H1N1 virus. Anim Dis. 2022;2(1):25
Influenza viruses not only cause respiratory illness, but also have been reported to elicit neurological manifestations following acute viral infection. The central nervous system (CNS) has a specific defense mechanism against pathogens structured by cerebral microvasculature lined with brain endothelial cells to form the blood-brain barrier (BBB). To investigate the response of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs) to the Influenza A virus (IAV), we inoculated the cells with the A/WSN/33 (H1N1) virus. We then conducted an RNAseq experiment to determine the changes in gene expression levels and the activated disease pathways following infection. The analysis revealed an effective activation of the innate immune defense by inducing the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Along with the production of proinflammatory cytokines, we detected an upregulation of interferons and interferon-stimulated genes, such as IFN-β/λ, ISG15, CXCL11, CXCL3 and IL-6, etc. Moreover, infected hBMECs exhibited a disruption in the cytoskeletal structure both on the transcriptomic and cytological levels. The RNAseq analysis showed different pathways and candidate genes associated with the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, neuroinflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases, together with a predicted activation of the neuroglia. Likewise, some genes linked with the mitochondrial structure and function displayed a significantly altered expression. En masse, this data supports that hBMECs could be infected by the IAV, which induces the innate and inflammatory immune response. The results suggest that the influenza virus infection could potentially induce a subsequent aggravation of neurological disorders.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- Engineered Bacillus subtilis to deliver dsRNA via extracellular vesicles against the H9N2 avian influenza virus 6 hours ago
- [preprint]Spatiotemporal dynamics and ecological risk factors of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) in Canadian wildlife: A One Health surveillance analysis 6 hours ago
- Epidemiological and Virological Characteristics of H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus in Jiangsu Province, China, 2024 17 hours ago
- Innate Pathway Selection Modulates Antibody and T-Cell Responses to Mosaic Influenza Nucleoprotein in Cattle 2 days ago
- Game Over for the Baseline: Influenza Hospitalization Patterns Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic (FluSurv-NET, 2009–2025) 2 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


