Table_1_Transcriptome Sequencing Identifies Novel Immune Response Genes Highly Related to the Severity of Human Adenovirus Type 55 Infection.DOCX

Human adenovirus type 55 (HAdV-55) is considered a highly virulent pathogen causing severe and even deadly pneumonia in immunocompetent people. The mechanisms of HAdV-55-induced initiation and progression of severe pneumonia remain ambiguous. In the current study, we endeavored to identify novel immune response genes which are substantially involved in the pathogenesis of severe inflammation in HAdV-55-infected patients. HAdV-55-infected patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms (minor patients) and pneumonia (severe patients) were enrolled. Through transcriptome sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the patients were analyzed. We found that the expression of eight genes, including Il18, Il36b, Il17rc, Tnfsf10, Tnfsf11, Tnfsf14, Tnfsf15, and Il1a, were closely correlated with the severity of HAdV-55 infection. Most of these genes belong to interleukin-1 family or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily, respectively. The changes in gene expression were confirmed by Western blot assay. Our data will be crucial for deepening the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of severe pneumonia in HAdV-55 infection.

55型人腺病毒（Human adenovirus type 55, HAdV-55）被认定为高致病性病原体，可在免疫功能正常人群中引发重症乃至致死性肺炎。目前，55型人腺病毒诱导重症肺炎的起始及进展机制仍不明晰。本研究致力于筛选与55型人腺病毒感染患者重症炎症发病机制密切相关的新型免疫应答基因。本研究纳入55型人腺病毒感染者，其中表现为上呼吸道症状者为轻症患者，合并肺炎者为重症患者。通过转录组测序（transcriptome sequencing）与实时定量PCR（quantitative real-time PCR）技术，对患者的外周血单个核细胞（peripheral blood mononuclear cells）进行了分析。结果显示，包括IL18、IL36B、IL17RC、TNFSF10、TNFSF11、TNFSF14、TNFSF15及IL1A在内的8个基因的表达水平与55型人腺病毒感染的严重程度密切相关。上述基因大多分别隶属于白细胞介素-1家族（interleukin-1 family）或肿瘤坏死因子（tumor necrosis factor, TNF）超家族。蛋白免疫印迹（Western blot）实验验证了上述基因的表达变化。本研究数据对于深化55型人腺病毒感染所致重症肺炎的发病机制认知具有重要意义。