Frontiers in Microbiology (Jul 2020)

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Rhinovirus and Influenza Virus Infection

  • Thrimendra Kaushika Dissanayake,
  • Sascha Schäuble,
  • Mohammad Mirhakkak,
  • Wai-Lan Wu,
  • Anthony Chin-Ki Ng,
  • Cyril C. Y. Yip,
  • Albert García López,
  • Man-Lung Yeung,
  • Man-Lung Yeung,
  • Man-Lung Yeung,
  • Man-Lung Yeung,
  • Kwok-Hung Chan,
  • Kwok-Yung Yuen,
  • Kwok-Yung Yuen,
  • Kwok-Yung Yuen,
  • Kwok-Yung Yuen,
  • Gianni Panagiotou,
  • Gianni Panagiotou,
  • Kelvin Kai-Wang To,
  • Kelvin Kai-Wang To,
  • Kelvin Kai-Wang To,
  • Kelvin Kai-Wang To

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01580
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Rhinovirus (RV) and influenza virus are the most frequently detected respiratory viruses among adult patients with community acquired pneumonia. Previous clinical studies have identified major differences in the clinical presentations and inflammatory or immune response during these infections. A systematic transcriptomic analysis directly comparing influenza and RV is lacking. Here, we sought to compare the transcriptomic response to these viral infections. Human airway epithelial Calu-3 cells were infected with contemporary clinical isolates of RV, influenza A virus (IAV), or influenza B virus (IBV). Host gene expression was determined using RNA-seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with respect to mock-infected cells were identified using the overlapping gene-set of four different statistical models. Transcriptomic analysis showed that RV-infected cells have a more blunted host response with fewer DEGs than IAV or IBV-infected cells. IFNL1 and CXCL10 were among the most upregulated DEGs during RV, IAV, and IBV infection. Other DEGs that were highly expressed for all 3 viruses were mainly genes related to type I or type III interferons (RSAD2, IDO1) and chemokines (CXCL11). Notably, ICAM5, a known receptor for enterovirus D68, was highly expressed during RV infection only. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) confirmed that pathways associated with interferon response, innate immunity, or regulation of inflammatory response, were most perturbed for all three viruses. Network analysis showed that steroid-related pathways were enriched. Taken together, our data using contemporary virus strains suggests that genes related to interferon and chemokine predominated the host response associated with RV, IAV, and IBV infection. Several highly expressed genes, especially ICAM5 which is preferentially-induced during RV infection, deserve further investigation.

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