Rhinovirus increases Moraxella catarrhalis adhesion to the respiratory epithelium.

ABSTRACT: Rhinovirus causes many types of respiratory illnesses, ranging from minor colds to exacerbations of asthma. Moraxella catarrhalis is an opportunistic pathogen that is increased in abundance during rhinovirus illnesses and asthma exacerbations and is associated with increased severity of illness through mechanisms that are ill-defined. We used a co-infection model of human airway epithelium differentiated at the air-liquid interface to test the hypothesis that rhinovirus infection promotes M. catarrhalis adhesion and survival on the respiratory epithelium. Initial experiments showed that infection with M. catarrhalis alone did not damage the epithelium or induce cytokine production, but increased trans-epithelial electrical resistance, indicative of increased barrier fu

SUBMITTER: Dissanayake E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9886879 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature