Profiling epithelial viral receptor expression in amniotic membrane and nasal epithelial cells at birth

Abstract

Children with wheeze and asthma present with airway epithelial vulnerabilities, such as impaired responses to viral infection. It is postulated that the in utero environment may contribute to the development of airway epithelial vulnerabilities. The aims of the study were to establish whether the receptors for rhinovirus (RV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are expressed in the amniotic membrane and whether the pattern of expression is similar to newborn nasal epithelium. Amniotic and newborn nasal samples expressed various receptors for RV, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 at the gene level, quantified by qPCR. In addition, protein expression of these receptors was confirmed in the amniotic samples by western blot, which were localised to the epithelial layer of the membrane using immunohistochemistry. This proof-of-concept study indicates the potential of amniotic samples to facilitate investigation into the interactions between the in utero environment and prenatal programming of epithelial innate immune responses to viruses.