Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #421328
Research Project: Genomic and Mitigation Strategies to Control Mastitis

Location: Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research

Title: SARS-CoV-2 WA1 induces distinct immune transcriptome profiles in human and deer primary respiratory epithelial cells

Author
item NELLI, RAHUL - Iowa State University
item Sarlo Davila, Kaitlyn
item PHADKE, KRUTTIKA - Iowa State University
item RUDEN, RACHEL - Iowa State University
item BELLAIRE, BRYAN - Iowa State University
item SANG, YONGMING - East Tennessee State University
item GIMENEZ-LIROLA, LUIS - Iowa State University
item MILLER, LAURA - Kansas State University

Submitted to: Journal of Immunology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2024
Publication Date: 5/1/2024
Citation: Nelli, R., Sarlo Davila, K.M., Phadke, K., Ruden, R., Bellaire, B., Sang, Y., Gimenez-Lirola, L., Miller, L. 2024. SARS-CoV-2 WA1 induces distinct immune transcriptome profiles in human and deer primary respiratory epithelial cells . Journal of Immunology. Article 212. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.212.supp.0124.4110.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.212.supp.0124.4110

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect animals, especially white-tailed deer (WTD), is a public health and economic concern. Humans experience varied clinical outcomes, while WTD are usually asymptomatic carriers. The immune factors responsible for these differences have yet to be studied. A comparative transcriptomic analysis in primary respiratory epithelial cells of humans (HRECs) and WTD (Deer-RECs) infected with SARS-CoV-2 WA1 was assessed throughout 48 hours post-inoculation (hpi). Both HRECs and Deer-RECs were susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, with significantly (P < 0.001) lower virus replication in Deer-RECs. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) gradually increased in Deer-RECs but decreased in HRECs throughout the infection. The ingenuity pathway analysis of DEGs further identified that genes commonly altered during SARS-CoV-2 infection mainly belong to cytokine/chemokine response pathways mediated via IL-17 and NF-'B signaling pathways. SARS-CoV-2 activated AP-1/JUN transcription factor in both HRECs and Deer-RECs. Deer-RECs showed delayed upregulation of genes related to wound repair, including CXCL8, MAP4K4, p21, VEGFA, and HBEGF. The early inhibition of the NF-'B signaling in Deer-RECs predicted at 6 hpi may have contributed to the comparatively less proinflammation observed in Deer-RECs than HRECs. These findings may partly explain differences in WTD and human responses to SARS-CoV-2 WA1 infection.