Innate Immune Responses to Influenza Virus Infections in the Upper Respiratory Tract

The innate immune system is the host’s first line of immune defence against any invading pathogen. To establish an infection in a human host the influenza virus must replicate in epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract. However, there are several innate immune mechanisms in place to stop the virus from reaching epithelial cells. In addition to limiting viral replication and dissemination, the innate immune system also activates the adaptive immune system leading to viral clearance, enabling the respiratory system to return to normal homeostasis. However, an overzealous innate immune system or adaptive immune response can be associated with immunopathology and aid secondary bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract leading to pneumonia. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms utilised by the innate immune system to limit influenza virus replication and the damage caused by influenza viruses on the respiratory tissues and how these very same protective immune responses can cause immunopathology.

• Publication year

  2021

• Venue

  Viruses

• Publication date

  2021-10-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/v13102090PMID 34696520PMCID 8541359
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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