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Nipah virus replication in respiratory epithelial cells

The Malaysian Nipah virus (NiV) strain first appeared in 1998 and caused clinical disease in pigs, which transmitted the infection to humans. While pigs developed acute respiratory disease due to highly efficient viral replication and associated inflammatory processes in the epithelium of the respiratory tract, humans developed severe encephalitis with limited respiratory symptoms and minor viral shedding via airway secretions. These differences in clinical symptoms suggest species-specific differences in respiratory epithelial infection. To identify host factors relevant for these differences, we compare NiV infections in primary airway cultures of both species with respect to viral replication kinetics and cytokine responses. Within this studies, we focus on species-specific differences in the type III interferon (IFN-lambda)-signaling pathway and in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines.