RESUMO
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most frequent cause of severe respiratory disease in children. The main targets of HRSV infection are epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, and the great majority of the studies regarding HRSV infection are done in respiratory cells. Recently, the interest on respiratory virus infection of lymphoid cells has been growing, but details of the interaction of HRSV with lymphoid cells remain unknown. Therefore, this study was done to assess the relationship of HRSV with A3.01 cells, a human CD4+ T cell line. Using flow cytometry and fluorescent focus assay, we found that A3.01 cells are susceptible but virtually not permissive to HRSV infection. Dequenching experiments revealed that the fusion process of HRSV in A3.01 cells was nearly abolished in comparison to HEp-2 cells, an epithelial cell lineage. Quantification of viral RNA by RT-qPCR showed that the replication of HRSV in A3.01 cells was considerably reduced. Western blot and quantitative flow cytometry analyses demonstrated that the production of HRSV proteins in A3.01 was significantly lower than in HEp-2 cells. Additionally, using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we found that the inclusion body-associated granules (IBAGs) were almost absent in HRSV inclusion bodies in A3.01 cells. We also assessed the intracellular trafficking of HRSV proteins and found that HRSV proteins colocalized partially with the secretory pathway in A3.01 cells, but these HRSV proteins and viral filaments were present only scarcely at the plasma membrane. HRSV infection of A3.01 CD4+ T cells is virtually unproductive as compared to HEp-2 cells, as a result of defects at several steps of the viral cycle: Fusion, genome replication, formation of inclusion bodies, recruitment of cellular proteins, virus assembly, and budding.
Assuntos
Infecções por Vírus Respiratório Sincicial/virologia , Vírus Sincicial Respiratório Humano/fisiologia , Linfócitos T/virologia , Linhagem Celular , Humanos , Vírus Sincicial Respiratório Humano/genética , Proteínas Virais de Fusão/genética , Proteínas Virais de Fusão/metabolismo , Montagem de Vírus , Replicação ViralRESUMO
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is an important cause of respiratory disease. The majority of studies addressing the importance of virus co-infections to the HRSV-disease have been based on the detection of HRSV by RT-PCR, which may not distinguish current replication from prolonged shedding of remnant RNA from previous HRSV infections. To assess whether co-detections of other common respiratory viruses are associated with increased severity of HRSV illnesses from patients who were shedding viable-HRSV, nasopharyngeal aspirates from children younger than 5 years who sought medical care for respiratory infections in Ribeirão Preto (Brazil) were tested for HRSV by immunofluorescence, RT-PCR and virus isolation in cell culture. All samples with viable-HRSV were tested further by PCR for other respiratory viruses. HRSV-disease severity was assessed by a clinical score scale. A total of 266 samples from 247 children were collected and 111 (42%) were HRSV-positive. HRSV was isolated from 70 (63%), and 52 (74%) of them were positive for at least one additional virus. HRSV-positive diseases were more severe than HRSV-negative ones, but there was no difference in disease severity between patients with viable-HRSV and those HRSV-positives by RT-PCR. Co-detection of other viruses did not correlate with increased disease severity. HRSV isolation in cell culture does not seem to be superior to RT-PCR to distinguish infections associated with HRSV replication in studies of clinical impact of HRSV. A high rate of co-detection of other respiratory viruses was found in samples with viable-HRSV, but this was not associated with more severe HRSV infection.