Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Induced Immune Signature of Infection Revealed by Transcriptome Analysis of Clinical Pediatric Nasopharyngeal Swab Samples

Abstract

Abstract Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) constitutes one the main causes of respiratory infection in neonates and infants worldwide. Transcriptome analysis of clinical samples using high-throughput technologies remains an important tool to better understand virus-host complex interactions in the real-life setting but also to identify new diagnosis/prognosis markers or therapeutics targets. A major challenge when exploiting clinical samples such as nasal swabs, washes, or bronchoalveolar lavages is the poor quantity and integrity of nucleic acids. In this study, we applied a tailored transcriptomics workflow to exploit nasal wash samples from children who tested positive for HRSV. Our analysis revealed a characteristic immune signature as a direct reflection of HRSV pathogenesis and highlighted putative biomarkers of interest such as IP-10, TMEM190, MCEMP1, and TIMM23.