Expression data of influenza A-infected human type I-like alveolar epithelial cells

Pandemic influenza H1N1 (pdmH1N1) virus causes mild disease in humans but occasionally leads to severe complications and even death, especially in those who are pregnant or have underlying disease. Cytokine responses induced by pdmH1N1 viruses in vitro are comparable to other seasonal influenza viruses, suggesting the cytokine dysregulation as seen in H5N1 infection is not a feature of the pdmH1N1 virus. However, a comprehensive gene expression profile of pdmH1N1 in relevant primary human cells in vitro has not been reported. Type I alveolar epithelial cells are a key target cell in pdmH1N1 pneumonia. We carried out a comprehensive gene expression profiling using the Affymetrix microarray platform to compare the transcriptomes of primary human alveolar type I-like alveolar epithelial cells infected with pdmH1N1 or seasonal H1N1 virus. Primary type II alveolar epithelial cells were isolated from human non-malignant lung tissue of three patients who underwent lung resection, and cells were differentiated to type I-like before use. Type I-like alveolar epithelial cells were mock infected, or infected with pdmH1N1 or seasonal H1N1 viruses at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of two. Total RNA was extracted from cells after 8h post-infection, and gene expression profiling was performed using an Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST microarray platform.