The Immune Response to Respiratory Viruses: From Start to Memory

Abstract

Biomedical research has long strived to improve our understanding of the immune response to respiratory viral infections, an effort that has become all the more important as we live through the consequences of a pandemic. The disease course of these infections is shaped in large part by the actions of various cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. While these cells are crucial in clearing viral pathogens and establishing long-term immunity, their effector mechanisms may also escalate into excessive, tissue-destructive inflammation detrimental to the host. In this review, we describe the breadth of the immune response to infection with respiratory viruses such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. Throughout, we focus on the host rather than the pathogen and try to describe shared patterns in the host response to different viruses. We start with the local cells of the airways, onto the recruitment and activation of innate and adaptive immune cells, followed by the establishment of local and systemic memory cells key in protection against reinfection. We end by exploring how respiratory viral infections can predispose to bacterial superinfection.

Varicella-Zoster virus reactivation following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccination or infection: New insights

“…Emerging evidence shows that it may be induced by the upregulation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-Akt pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway [71] . The immune response induced by respiratory viruses is complex and it may predispose to bacterial or viral superinfections [72] . Moreover, COVID-19 depletes the immune system [ 73 , 74 ] and makes it susceptible to attack by other viruses, which may explain the reactivation of VZV.…”

Respiratory Viruses and Cystic Fibrosis

“…Interactions between viruses and bacteria within the lung represent one potential pathophysiological mechanism as discussed in Section 8 on the lung microbiome below. The immune response to respiratory virus infection in general has been reviewed comprehensively elsewhere [40][41][42] so here we focus on the host response to viral infection in the context of CF.…”