The effects of Human Bocavirus I VLPs on peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a newly discovered parvovirus identified from pooled nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens. Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is a respiratory virus observed in respiratory samples from small children presenting bronchiolitis, wheezing, cough, fever, and rhinorrhea. It is the fourth most common virus detected in respiratory infections. DNA of HBoV1 was detected in up to 18% of nasal or nasopharyngeal samples and another study has been shown that over than 85% of children in the United States have antibodies to this virus. HBoV1 is a small DNA virus with a nonenveloped icosahedral capsid. This virus previously has been associated with wheezing, acute otitis media, severe pneumonia and respiratory failure. HBoV 1 has been also detected in the blood of acute respiratory patients and the selected group of immunocompromised children and also determined in healthy blood donors. The role of HBoV1 in the inflammatory process is poorly known. The aim of this project is to clarify the role of HBOV1 in the immunoregulatory mechanisms. PBMCs were isolated from seven healthy individuals. Isolated cells were stimulated with 2.4 µg/ml HBoV1-VLPs for two different time points (6h and 24h). Total RNA isolation was performed from unstimulated and stimulated cultured PBMCs.