Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of pediatric lower respiratory tract disease. Our goal was to obtain a detailed understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of RSV infections by studying the protein expression profiles in rats with pneumonia. First, we successfully established the pneumonia rat model by intranasal injection with RSV. The differentially expressed proteins of lung tissues of RSV-infected rats compared with those of the controls were analyzed by using two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. A total of 41 differentially expressed protein spots representing 20 unique proteins were successfully identified. Classification analysis showed that most of the proteins are implicated in metabolic processes, cellular processes, cellular component organization or biogenesis, and immune system process. The significantly elevated expressions of four proteins T-kininogen 1 (KNT1), T-kininogen 2 (KNT2), haptoglobin (HP), and hemopexin (HPX) were further validated in RSV-infected rats using western blot and immunohistochemistry, which might serve as the potential biomarkers of RSV-infected pneumonia. These results provide new insights into the pathogenesis of RSV infection-induced pneumonia, and provide important directions for functional studies and therapeutic design in the future.
