The mechanism of viral induced apoptosis in mammalian airway epithelial cells infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1

为了阐明H5N1病毒的致病机制，我们从1岁龄猪的肺泡组织中分离出原代呼吸道上皮细胞，并利用反向遗传学系统获得了含有H5N1血凝素(HA)的重组H5N3病毒。重组H5N3病毒感染猪肺泡上皮细胞后，H5N1 HA蛋白在诱导感染的猪肺泡上皮细胞caspase依赖性凋亡中起关键作用。此外，H5N1 HA1区(84-340个氨基酸)对于诱导感染细胞中caspase依赖的细胞凋亡是必不可少的。

To elucidate the mechanism of H5N1 pathogenesis, we prepared primary airway epithelial cells from alveolar tissues from 1-year-old pigs and generated recombinant H5N3 viruses possessing H5N1 hemagglutinin (HA) by using reverse genetics system. After infection with the recombinant H5N3 viruses, H5N1 HA protein played a critical role in inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis in infected porcine alveolar epithelial cells. In addition, H5N1 HA1 region (84-340 amino acids) was essential for induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis in infected cells.