Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and live cell extrusion contribute to measles virus release from human airway epithelia.

ABSTRACT: Measles virus (MeV) is a highly contagious respiratory virus transmitted via aerosols. To understand how MeV exits the airways of an infected host, we use unpassaged primary cultures of human airway epithelial cells (HAE). MeV typically remains cell-associated in HAE and forms foci of infection, termed infectious centers, by directly spreading cell-to-cell. We previously described the phenomenon in which infectious centers detach en masse from HAE and remain viable. Here, we investigate the mechanism of this cellular detachment. Via immunostaining, we observed loss of tight junction and cell adhesion proteins within infectious centers. These morphological changes indicate activation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT can contribute to wound healing in respiratory epi

SUBMITTER: Hippee CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11852777 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature