Garrison Cox

Major: Microbiology

Faculty Advisor: Tanya Miura

Project Title:

Attenuation of mouse hepatitis virus induced acute respiratory distress syndrome like disease via rhinovirus coinfection in a murine model

Abstract

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with many fatal cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. Animal studies have suggested the utility of infection of BALB/c mice with a related coronavirus, murine hepatitis virus strain 1 (MHV-1), as an animal model of ARDS. Clinical and epidemiological studies suggest that viral coinfection, defined as the presence of two or more distinct viruses, of hosts is common in viral respiratory infection and disease. Subsequent animal studies have shown that exposing mice to rhinovirus strain 1B (RV1B) followed by MHV-1 attenuates the severity of what would otherwise be a lethal MHV-1 infection. This suggests that exposure to a mild respiratory virus may reduce the severity of infection and disease from a second, unrelated, respiratory virus. Using this coinfection model, we collected samples from MHV-1 infected and RV1B/MHV-1 coinfected mice to identify potential mechanisms of protection. MHV-1 titers were lower in the lungs of coinfected mice than those infected with MHV-1 alone. We are currently evaluating expression of antiviral cytokines and histopathology to understand how RV1B protects mice against lethal coronavirus disease.

Funding: 

• Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant #P20GM103408 (INBRE)
• Richard Heimsch Faculty Excellence Fellowship