title: Respiratory syncytial virus interaction with human airway epithelium.
abstract: Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major human respiratory pathogen, our knowledge of how it causes disease in humans is limited. Airway epithelial cells are the primary targets of RSV infection in vivo, so the generation and exploitation of RSV infection models based on morphologically and physiologically authentic well-differentiated primary human airway epithelial cells cultured at an air-liquid interface (WD-PAECs) provide timely developments that will help to bridge this gap. Here we review the interaction of RSV with WD-PAEC cultures, the authenticity of the RSV-WD-PAEC models relative to RSV infection of human airway epithelium in vivo, and future directions for their exploitation in our quest to understand RSV pathogenesis in humans.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Biomedical Sciences, Queens University Belfast, and The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK.
authors.forename: Remi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villenave
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Ultan F
authors.initials: UF
authors.lastname: Power
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000821:virology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology*; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*