Aging shapes infection profiles of influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 in human lung slices

by admin | Apr 16, 2024 | Scientific reports, Virology, Pathophysiology

By Melanie Brügger et al.

Source bioRxiv

ABSTRACT

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak revealed the susceptibility of elderly patients to respiratory virus infections, showing cell senescence or subclinical persistent inflammatory profiles and favouring the development of severe pneumonia. In our study, we evaluated the potential influence of lung aging on the efficiency of replication of influenza A virus (IAV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as well as determined the pro-inflammatory and antiviral responses of the distal lung tissue. Using precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) from donors of different ages, we found that pandemic H1N1 and avian H5N1 IAV replicated in the lung parenchyma with high efficacy.