Heterogeneous pathological outcomes after experimental pH1N1 influenza infection in ferrets correlate with viral replication and host immune responses in the lung

Vidaña, Beatriz; Martínez, Jorge; Martínez-Orellana, Pamela; García Migura, Lourdes; Montoya, María; Martorell, Jaime; Majó, Natàlia

In contrast, several reports have suggested that influenza-associated pathology is most strongly determined by the different host factors [12] [13] [14] . Host genetic variation in immune-related genes has been shown to account for varying susceptibilities to numerous infectious agents and may contribute to the variation observed in pH1N1 susceptibility and disease severity [14] [15] [16] . A variety of studies have suggested that these host characteristics are associated with appropriate immune responses that may play important roles in determining the outcome of infection [13, [17] [18] [19] . To date, polymorphisms in the chemokine receptor type (CCR) 5, toll like receptor (TLR) 3, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and interferoninducible transmembrane (IFITM) genes [15, [20] [21] [22] and a deficiency in the immunoglobulin (Ig) G2 response [23, 24] have been correlated with more severe courses of pH1N1 infection.