Kinetics of interferon-λ and receptor expression in response to in vitro respiratory viral infection

The major protective immune response against viruses is the production of type I and III interferons (IFNs). IFNs induce the expression of hundreds of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) that block viral replication and further viral spread. In this report, we analyzed the expression of IFNs and some ISGs (MxA, PKR, OAS-1, IFIT-1, RIG-1, MDA5, SOCS-1) in alveolar epithelial cells (A549) in response to infection with influenza A viruses (A/California/07/09 (H1N1pdm); A/Texas/50/12 (H3N2)); influenza B virus (B/Phuket/3073/13); adenovirus type 5 and 6; or respiratory syncytial virus (strain A2). Influenza B virus had the ability to most rapidly induce IFNs and ISGs as well as to stimulate excessive IFN-α, IFN-β and IFN-λ secretion. It seems curious that IAV H1N1pdm did not induce IFN-λ secretion, but enhanced type I IFN and interleukin (IL)-6 production. We emphasized the importance of the negative regulation of virus-triggered signaling and cellular IFN response. We showed a decrease in IFNLR1 mRNA in the case of IBV infection. The attenuation of SOCS-1 expression in IAV H1N1pdm can be considered as the inability of the system to restore the immune status. Presumably, the lack of negative feedback loop regulation of proinflammatory immune response may be a factor contributing to the particular pathogenicity of several strains of influenza. Keywords: lambda interferons; MxA; influenza; respiratory syncytial virus; A549 cells.