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Limited replication of influenza A virus in human mast cells

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Abstract

Mast cells are important in innate immunity and protective against certain bacterial infections. However, there is limited evidence that mast cells respond to viruses. As mast cells are abundant in mucosal tissues of the lung, they are in a prime location to detect and respond to influenza virus. In this study, we characterized for the first time the replication cycle of influenza A virus in human mast cells by measuring influenza A virus transcription, RNA replication, protein synthesis, and formation of infectious virus as compared to the replication cycle in epithelial cells. We detected the presence of influenza A viral genomic RNA transcription, replication, and protein synthesis in human mast cells and epithelial cells. However, there was no significant release of infectious influenza A virus from mast cells, whereas epithelial cells produce ~100-fold virus compared with the inoculating dose. We confirmed that influenza A virus infects human mast cells, begins to replicate, but the production of new virus is aborted. Thus, mast cells may lack critical factors essential for productive infection or there are intrinsic or inducible anti-influenza A mechanisms in mast cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Candy W. Marcet is a recipient of the Walter and Jessie Boyd and Charles Scriver MD/PhD Studentship from CIHR. We thank Drs. Kevin P. Kane and Earl G. Brown for FluA virus (A/PR/8/34 strain) and rabbit antiserum to FluA, respectively, and Dr Yokananth Sekar for repeating Western blots shown in Fig. 5.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AstraZeneca Canada Chair in Asthma Research, Pulmonary Research Group, Department of Medicine, Room 550A, HMRC, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2S2, Canada

    A. Dean Befus

  2. Pulmonary Research Group, Department of Medicine, Room 567, HMRC, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2S2, Canada

    Candy W. Marcet, Chris D. St. Laurent, Tae Chul Moon & Nav Singh

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  1. Candy W. Marcet
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  2. Chris D. St. Laurent
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Correspondence to A. Dean Befus.

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Marcet, C.W., St. Laurent, C.D., Moon, T.C. et al. Limited replication of influenza A virus in human mast cells. Immunol Res 56, 32–43 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-012-8377-4

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