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The BeWo cell line derived from a human placental choriocarcinoma is permissive for respiratory syncytial virus infection

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Abstract

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the main pathogen associated with upper respiratory tract infections during early childhood. Vertical transmission of this virus has been suggested in humans, based on observations recorded during animal studies that revealed an association of RSV with persistent structural and functional changes in the developing lungs of the offspring. However, human placentas have not yet been evaluated for susceptibility to RSV infection. In this study, we examined the capacity of RSV to infect a human trophoblast model, the BeWo cell line. Our results suggest that BeWo cells are susceptible to RSV infection since they allow RNA viral replication, viral protein translation, leading to the production of infectious RSV particles. In this report, we demonstrate that a human placenta model system, consisting of BeWo cells, is permissive to RSV infection. Thus, the BeWo cell line may represent a useful model for studies that aim to characterize the events of a possible RSV infection at the human maternal–fetal interface.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Beatriz Gomez (UNAM), Dr. Alberto Guzman (INPer), Dra. Veronica Zaga Clavellina (INPer), Dr. Lorena Gutierrez (Cinvestav), and Dr. Yonathan Garfias (UNAM) for the antibodies, cells, and viruses donated for this study. This research was supported by the National Council on Science and Technology CONACYT (CB-2015-01-255007 to M.L.J.) and Instituto Nacional de Perinatología “Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes” (212250-3210-21007-03-15 to M.L.J.). L.D.G.G. received a fellowship from CONACYT. Additionally, M.L.J., M.H.I., G.C.J., and H.R.A.C. acknowledge their membership of the National System of Researchers (SNI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Inmunobioquímica, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, Montes Urales 800, Col. Lomas Virreyes, CP 11000, Mexico City, Mexico

    M. A. Velázquez-Cervantes, M. Martínez-Castillo, L. D. González-García, T. A. Vargas-Pavía, M. G. Martínez-Salazar, G. León-Reyes, A. C. Helguera-Repetto & M. León-Juárez

  2. Departamento de Infectología e Inmunología, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes, Montes Urales 800, Col. Lomas Virreyes, CP 11000, Mexico City, Mexico

    I. Mancilla-Herrera

  3. Departamento de Biomedicina Molecular, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del I.P.N, Av. Instituto Politécnico 2508 Co. San Pedro Zacatenco, CP 07360, Mexico City, Mexico

    J. García-Cordero

Authors
  1. M. A. Velázquez-Cervantes
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  2. M. Martínez-Castillo
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  3. L. D. González-García
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  5. M. G. Martínez-Salazar
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  6. I. Mancilla-Herrera
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  7. G. León-Reyes
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  8. J. García-Cordero
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  9. A. C. Helguera-Repetto
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  10. M. León-Juárez
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: MAVC, JGC, HRAC, and MLJ. Performed the experiments: MAVC, LDGG, TAVP, MSMG and MHI. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: MHI and HRAC. Wrote the paper: MLJ, MMC, and GLR. Coordinated and facilitated the project: MLJ. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. León-Juárez.

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This article does not contain any study with human participants or animals, performed by any of the authors.

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Velázquez-Cervantes, M.A., Martínez-Castillo, M., González-García, L.D. et al. The BeWo cell line derived from a human placental choriocarcinoma is permissive for respiratory syncytial virus infection. Virus Genes 55, 406–410 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-019-01646-2

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