Identification of Common Biological Pathways and Drug Targets Across Multiple Respiratory Viruses Based on Human Host Gene Expression Analysis

Smith, Steven B.; Dampier, William; Tozeren, Aydin; Brown, James R.; Magid-Slav, Michal

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF). TNF has a wide range of biological functions including modulation of immune response to pathogen assault. Mouse TNF knock-out phenotypes include abnormal immune system physiology, increased susceptibility to viral infection, and both increased and decreased susceptibility to bacterial infection [29] [30] [31] . In our study, TNF is mostly up regulated in infections by CMV, CORON, COX, and FLU but directionally ambiguous for MPNEU and not expressed under RSV. While total disruption of TNF function would be deleterious to the host, there are instances where partial TNF inhibition provides a clinical benefit in patients with viral complications [70, 71] .