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Title: EXAMINING THE CELLULAR PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN INFLUENZA VIRUS INDUCED APOPTOSIS

Author
item SCHULTZ-CHERRY, S - UNIV OF WISCONSIN
item KOCI, M - UNIV OF WISCONSIN
item THOMPSON, E - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item TUMPEY, T - CDC - ATLANTA, GA

Submitted to: Avian Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2002
Publication Date: 9/1/2003
Citation: Schultz-Cherry, S., Koci, M., Thompson, E., Tumpey, T. 2003. Examining The Cellular Pathways Involved In Influenza Virus Induced Apoptosis. Avian Diseases 47:968-971, 2003.

Interpretive Summary: Avian influenza virus can cause serious disease in poultry, including chickens and turkeys. The virus is known to cause cells grown in a Petri dish to undergo a programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis. Apoptosis can either be beneficial or detrimental to the host. It can be beneficial for the host because a virus requires a living cell to reproduce, and if the infected cell dies quickly less virus is produced which may help limit the viral infection. However, if too many cells die, that can cause enough damage to the host to result in clinical disease. To better understand how influenza viruses affect cells in the laboratory, an mild form of the avian influenza was used to infect cells and markers of apoptosis were observed. Previous reports had suggested the Fas protein was involved in apoptosis, but our studies did not show an increase of this protein. However, and increase in p53 protein was observed, and this protein has previously been linked to apoptosis.

Technical Abstract: Apoptosis is essential in many physiological processes including wound healing and development of the immune response. Apoptosis also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many infectious diseases including those caused by viruses. Influenza viruses induce apoptosis in cells that are permissive for viral replication and cells that do not support viral replication. The cellular pathways involved in influenza virus induced apoptosis are currently ill defined. Previous studies suggest that influenza virus infection increased the expression of the Fas antigen in HeLa cells, and that Fas antigen is partially involved in apoptosis. In these studies we examined the cellular pathways involved in avian influenza virus induced apoptosis in two cell lines that support productive viral replication: Madin-Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK) and mink lung epithelial (Mv1Lu) cells. In these cell lines apoptosis was observed but an increase in Fas antigen was not seen. However, p53, another protein related to apoptosis was observed.