Low grade rhinovirus infection induces a prolonged release of IL-8 in pulmonary epithelium

Rhinoviruses are important respiratory pathogens implicated in asthma exacerbations. The mechanisms by which rhinoviruses trigger inflammatory responses in the lower airway are poorly understood, in particular their ability to infect the lower airway. Bronchial inflammatory cell (lymphocyte and eosinophil) recruitment has been demonstrated. IL-8 is a potent proinflammatory chemokine that is chemotactic for neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and monocytes and may be important in the pathogenesis of virus-induced asthma. Increased levels of IL-8 have been found in nasal samples in natural and experimental rhinovirus infections. In these studies we therefore examine the ability of rhinovirus to infect a transformed lower airway epithelial cell line (A549) and to induce IL-8 protein release and mRNA induction. We observed that rhinovirus type 9 is able to undergo full viral replication in A549 cells, and peak viral titers were found 24 h after inoculation. Rhinovirus infection induced a dose- and time-dependent IL-8 release up to 5 days after infection and an increase in IL-8 mRNA expression that was maximal between 3 and 24 h after infection. UV inactivation of the virus completely inhibited replication, but only reduced IL-8 protein production and mRNA induction by half, while prevention of virus-receptor binding completely inhibited virus-induced IL-8 release, suggesting that part of the observed effects was due to viral replication and part was due to virus-receptor binding. These studies demonstrate that rhinoviruses are capable of infecting a pulmonary epithelial cell line and inducing IL-8 release. These findings may be important in understanding the pathogenesis of rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations.