Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, November 2008, p. 11308-11317, Vol. 82, No. 22
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.00691-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
,
Division of Immunology, International Institute of Infection and Immunity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China,1 University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,2 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,3 Laboratorio de Immunologia de Mucosas, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain,4 Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada,5 Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, Alabama,6 Amgen, Inc., San Francisco, California7
Received 27 March 2008/ Accepted 21 July 2008
How viral and host factors contribute to the severe pathogenicity of the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza virus infection in humans is poorly understood. We identified three clusters of differentially expressed innate immune response genes in lungs from H5N1 (A/Vietnam/1203/04) influenza virus-infected ferrets by oligonucleotide microarray analysis. Interferon response genes were more strongly expressed in H5N1-infected ferret lungs than in lungs from ferrets infected with the less pathogenic H3N2 subtype. In particular, robust CXCL10 gene expression in H5N1-infected ferrets led us to test the pathogenic role of signaling via CXCL10's cognate receptor, CXCR3, during H5N1 influenza virus infection. Treatment of H5N1-infected ferrets with the drug AMG487, a CXCR3 antagonist, resulted in a reduction of symptom severity and delayed mortality compared to vehicle treatment. We contend that unregulated host interferon responses are at least partially responsible for the severity of H5N1 infection and provide evidence that attenuating the CXCR3 signaling pathway improves the clinical course of H5N1 infection in ferrets.
Published ahead of print on 6 August 2008.
Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jvi.asm.org/.
This article has been cited by other articles:
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»