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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS190578+04-Sep-2009+PRN20090904
Researchers Find Common Respiratory Virus Hijacks Lung Cells to Stay Alive
Fri Sep 4, 2009 1:49pm EDT
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Approximately one-half
of all infants are infected with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during
the first year of life, and almost all children have been infected at least
once by the time they reach their second birthday. Researchers at West
Virginia University have discovered what makes RSV such a severe and
persistent illness.
Senior author Giovanni Piedimonte, M.D., and his team have discovered that RSV
prompts the release of a molecule that keeps the invaded cells alive despite
the infection. The mechanism allows infected cells to survive for a longer
period of time while they continue to produce viral particles, thus
contributing to the severity and persistence of the infection.
Research results are published in the current issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
Inflammation of the airways caused by RSV often results in wheezing, cough and
respiratory distress, creating the most common respiratory infection in
infancy or childhood. Each year, an estimated 125,000 infants in the United
States are hospitalized with RSV, the leading cause of infant hospitalization.
"There is still no effective therapy or medical treatment for RSV infection.
While often mild, it still is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
infants in the United States each year," said Dr. Piedimonte, chair of the WVU
Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of WVU Children's Hospital.
"The virus also strikes in nursing homes and causes deaths in the elderly
population, so understanding how it works is critical."
Piedimonte said up to 500 infants may die of the infection each year. RSV may
also predispose children to long-term health problems such as asthma. Other
groups at high risk for severe RSV disease include the elderly, adults with
underlying respiratory or cardiac disease, and those with a compromised immune
system.
"Viruses must find a way to survive inside the host, and in this case RSV has
found a way of keeping alive the cells that they infect," Piedimonte
explained. "The virus invades the cell, which then produces a small molecule
called NGF, or nerve growth factor. NGF allows the cell to survive while the
virus reproduces itself. Finally, the cell explodes releasing new viral
particles ready to infect the neighboring cells."
In determining how the virus instructs the infected cell to prolong its life,
the researchers may have established a blueprint for development of new
anti-viral drugs aimed at interfering with the action of NGF, Piedimonte said.
He added that RSV may prefer the lower respiratory tract specifically because
the smaller airways there allow for more efficient production of NGF.
"The interesting part of the RSV infection is that the viruses induce NGF
production within an hour of coming into contact with the human cells - that
is, even before they start multiplying," said the paper's lead author,
Sreekumar Othumpangat, Ph.D., a researcher in the WVU Pediatric Research
Institute.
Children born prematurely as well as those with chronic lung or heart disease
are at higher risk for severe RSV infections.
The laboratory studies were done using human cells. Now that Piedimonte's team
has discovered how RSV prolongs the life of its host cell, they are proceeding
with other studies to see if they can pinpoint the same mechanism in common
cold and influenza viruses.
The paper's other authors are Laura F. Gibson, deputy director of the Mary
Babb Randolph Cancer Center at WVU, and Lennie Samsell, a research assistant
in the Pediatric Research Institute.
The article, "NGF Is an Essential Survival Factor for Bronchial Epithelial
Cells during Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection," is available online at
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006444.
This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information,
visit http://www.newswise.com.
SOURCE West Virginia University Health Sciences Center
Andrea Brunais, HSC News Service, +1-304-293-7087, brunaisa@wvuh.com
Researchers Find Common Respiratory Virus Hijacks Lung Cells to Stay Alive
Fri Sep 4, 2009 1:49pm EDT
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Approximately one-half
of all infants are infected with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during
the first year of life, and almost all children have been infected at least
once by the time they reach their second birthday. Researchers at West
Virginia University have discovered what makes RSV such a severe and
persistent illness.
Senior author Giovanni Piedimonte, M.D., and his team have discovered that RSV
prompts the release of a molecule that keeps the invaded cells alive despite
the infection. The mechanism allows infected cells to survive for a longer
period of time while they continue to produce viral particles, thus
contributing to the severity and persistence of the infection.
Research results are published in the current issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
Inflammation of the airways caused by RSV often results in wheezing, cough and
respiratory distress, creating the most common respiratory infection in
infancy or childhood. Each year, an estimated 125,000 infants in the United
States are hospitalized with RSV, the leading cause of infant hospitalization.
"There is still no effective therapy or medical treatment for RSV infection.
While often mild, it still is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
infants in the United States each year," said Dr. Piedimonte, chair of the WVU
Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of WVU Children's Hospital.
"The virus also strikes in nursing homes and causes deaths in the elderly
population, so understanding how it works is critical."
Piedimonte said up to 500 infants may die of the infection each year. RSV may
also predispose children to long-term health problems such as asthma. Other
groups at high risk for severe RSV disease include the elderly, adults with
underlying respiratory or cardiac disease, and those with a compromised immune
system.
"Viruses must find a way to survive inside the host, and in this case RSV has
found a way of keeping alive the cells that they infect," Piedimonte
explained. "The virus invades the cell, which then produces a small molecule
called NGF, or nerve growth factor. NGF allows the cell to survive while the
virus reproduces itself. Finally, the cell explodes releasing new viral
particles ready to infect the neighboring cells."
In determining how the virus instructs the infected cell to prolong its life,
the researchers may have established a blueprint for development of new
anti-viral drugs aimed at interfering with the action of NGF, Piedimonte said.
He added that RSV may prefer the lower respiratory tract specifically because
the smaller airways there allow for more efficient production of NGF.
"The interesting part of the RSV infection is that the viruses induce NGF
production within an hour of coming into contact with the human cells - that
is, even before they start multiplying," said the paper's lead author,
Sreekumar Othumpangat, Ph.D., a researcher in the WVU Pediatric Research
Institute.
Children born prematurely as well as those with chronic lung or heart disease
are at higher risk for severe RSV infections.
The laboratory studies were done using human cells. Now that Piedimonte's team
has discovered how RSV prolongs the life of its host cell, they are proceeding
with other studies to see if they can pinpoint the same mechanism in common
cold and influenza viruses.
The paper's other authors are Laura F. Gibson, deputy director of the Mary
Babb Randolph Cancer Center at WVU, and Lennie Samsell, a research assistant
in the Pediatric Research Institute.
The article, "NGF Is an Essential Survival Factor for Bronchial Epithelial
Cells during Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection," is available online at
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006444.
This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information,
visit http://www.newswise.com.
SOURCE West Virginia University Health Sciences Center
Andrea Brunais, HSC News Service, +1-304-293-7087, brunaisa@wvuh.com