Histopathology and growth kinetics of influenza viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) in the upper and lower airways of guinea pigs.

Recent investigations have shown that guinea pigs are important for the study of influenza A virus (IAV) transmission. However, very little is known about IAV replication and histopathology in the guinea pig respiratory tract. Here, we describe viral growth kinetics, target cells and histopathology in the nasosinus, trachea and lungs of IAV-infected guinea pigs.

Enhanced expression of murine beta-defensins (MBD-1, -2,- 3, and -4) in upper and lower airway mucosa of influenza virus infected mice.

Although defensins are known to inhibit the replication of human influenza A virus (IAV) in vitro, their in vivo expression during IAV infection is not known. Here we investigated mRNA and protein expression of several beta-defensins in the airways of IAV infected mice. Expression of murine beta-defensin (MBD)-3 and -4 was enhanced (3 to 5-fold, p<0.

High level expression of human epithelial beta-defensins (hBD-1, 2 and 3) in papillomavirus induced lesions.

Background: Epithelial defensins including human beta-defensins (hBDs) and alpha-defensins (HDs) are antimicrobial peptides that play important roles in the mucosal defense system. However, the role of defensins in papillomavirus induced epithelial lesions is unknown.

Results: Papilloma tissues were prospectively collected from 15 patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) and analyzed for defensins and chemokine IL-8 expression by quantitative, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays.