Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: PLoS ONE, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Influenza and SARS-Coronavirus Activating Proteases TMPRSS2 and HAT Are Expressed at Multiple Sites in Human Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Tracts
Stephanie Bertram<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Adeline Heurich<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Hayley Lavender<SUP>2</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Stefanie Gierer<SUP>1</SUP>, Simon Danisch<SUP>3</SUP>, Paula Perin<SUP>3</SUP>, Jared M. Lucas<SUP>4</SUP>, Peter S. Nelson<SUP>4</SUP>, Stefan P?hlmann<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>*</SUP>, Elizabeth J. Soilleux<SUP>5</SUP><SUP>*</SUP>
1 German Primate Center, G?ttingen, Germany, 2 Oxfabs, Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 3 Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, 4 Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 5 Department of Cellular Pathology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
The type II transmembrane serine proteases TMPRSS2 and HAT activate influenza viruses and the SARS-coronavirus (TMPRSS2) in cell culture and may play an important role in viral spread and pathogenesis in the infected host. However, it is at present largely unclear to what extent these proteases are expressed in viral target cells in human tissues. Here, we show that both HAT and TMPRSS2 are coexpressed with 2,6-linked sialic acids, the major receptor determinant of human influenza viruses, throughout the human respiratory tract. Similarly, coexpression of ACE2, the SARS-coronavirus receptor, and TMPRSS2 was frequently found in the upper and lower aerodigestive tract, with the exception of the vocal folds, epiglottis and trachea. Finally, activation of influenza virus was conserved between human, avian and porcine TMPRSS2, suggesting that this protease might activate influenza virus in reservoir-, intermediate- and human hosts. In sum, our results show that TMPRSS2 and HAT are expressed by important influenza and SARS-coronavirus target cells and could thus support viral spread in the human host.
Citation: Bertram S, Heurich A, Lavender H, Gierer S, Danisch S, et al. (2012) Influenza and SARS-Coronavirus Activating Proteases TMPRSS2 and HAT Are Expressed at Multiple Sites in Human Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Tracts. PLoS ONE 7(4): e35876. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035876
Editor: Volker Thiel, Kantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Switzerland
Received: November 22, 2011; Accepted: March 23, 2012; Published: April 30, 2012
Copyright: ? 2012 Bertram et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: HL is funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Programme. SB, AH, SG and SP were supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the project Ecology and Pathogenesis of SARS, an Archetypical Zoonosis (project codes 01KIO701, 01KIO703). PSN was supported by National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant P01CA085859. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: Professor Stefan P?hlmann is an academic editor for PLoS ONE. This does not alter the authors′ adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The remaining authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
* E-mail: s.poehlmann@dpz.eu (SP); Elizabeth.Soilleux@ndcls.ox.ac.uk (EJS)
# These authors contributed equally to this work.
- ------Stephanie Bertram<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Adeline Heurich<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Hayley Lavender<SUP>2</SUP><SUP>#</SUP>, Stefanie Gierer<SUP>1</SUP>, Simon Danisch<SUP>3</SUP>, Paula Perin<SUP>3</SUP>, Jared M. Lucas<SUP>4</SUP>, Peter S. Nelson<SUP>4</SUP>, Stefan P?hlmann<SUP>1</SUP><SUP>*</SUP>, Elizabeth J. Soilleux<SUP>5</SUP><SUP>*</SUP>
1 German Primate Center, G?ttingen, Germany, 2 Oxfabs, Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, 3 Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany, 4 Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, 5 Department of Cellular Pathology and Nuffield Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
The type II transmembrane serine proteases TMPRSS2 and HAT activate influenza viruses and the SARS-coronavirus (TMPRSS2) in cell culture and may play an important role in viral spread and pathogenesis in the infected host. However, it is at present largely unclear to what extent these proteases are expressed in viral target cells in human tissues. Here, we show that both HAT and TMPRSS2 are coexpressed with 2,6-linked sialic acids, the major receptor determinant of human influenza viruses, throughout the human respiratory tract. Similarly, coexpression of ACE2, the SARS-coronavirus receptor, and TMPRSS2 was frequently found in the upper and lower aerodigestive tract, with the exception of the vocal folds, epiglottis and trachea. Finally, activation of influenza virus was conserved between human, avian and porcine TMPRSS2, suggesting that this protease might activate influenza virus in reservoir-, intermediate- and human hosts. In sum, our results show that TMPRSS2 and HAT are expressed by important influenza and SARS-coronavirus target cells and could thus support viral spread in the human host.
Citation: Bertram S, Heurich A, Lavender H, Gierer S, Danisch S, et al. (2012) Influenza and SARS-Coronavirus Activating Proteases TMPRSS2 and HAT Are Expressed at Multiple Sites in Human Respiratory and Gastrointestinal Tracts. PLoS ONE 7(4): e35876. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035876
Editor: Volker Thiel, Kantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Switzerland
Received: November 22, 2011; Accepted: March 23, 2012; Published: April 30, 2012
Copyright: ? 2012 Bertram et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: HL is funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Programme. SB, AH, SG and SP were supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the project Ecology and Pathogenesis of SARS, an Archetypical Zoonosis (project codes 01KIO701, 01KIO703). PSN was supported by National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant P01CA085859. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: Professor Stefan P?hlmann is an academic editor for PLoS ONE. This does not alter the authors′ adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. The remaining authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
* E-mail: s.poehlmann@dpz.eu (SP); Elizabeth.Soilleux@ndcls.ox.ac.uk (EJS)
# These authors contributed equally to this work.