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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Viral Immunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1699818

A contemporary strain of RSV activates primary human monocytes after abortive infection

Provisionally accepted
Ayse AgacAyse AgacMartin LudlowMartin LudlowMarie-Christin KnittlerMarie-Christin KnittlerGiulietta SalettiGiulietta SalettiAlbertus DME OsterhausAlbertus DME OsterhausRobert MeinekeRobert Meineke*Guus RimmelzwaanGuus Rimmelzwaan*
  • Tierarztliche Hochschule Hannover Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, Hanover, Germany

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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections worldwide, particularly affecting infants, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals. Understanding the cellular immune response to RSV infection is essential for developing effective treatments for infection and its complications. In this study, we investigated the susceptibility of blood-derived primary monocytes and monocytic THP-1 cells to infection with a contemporary RSV A-ON1 strain and characterized the subsequent cytokine and chemokine secretion, as well as the expression of surface markers involved in antigen presentation. Our findings demonstrate that primary monocytes and related THP-1 cells are permissive to abortive infection by RSV, leading to increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IP-10, IL-6, and CCL2. Furthermore, primary monocytes expressed CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR upon direct infection or through potential paracrine stimulation. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the activation of monocytes by RSV infection, suggesting their contributory role in orchestrating early immune responses during infection.

Keywords: Monocytes, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), innate immunity, Cytokines and Chemokines, Activation markers, abortive infection

Received: 05 Sep 2025; Accepted: 22 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Agac, Ludlow, Knittler, Saletti, Osterhaus, Meineke and Rimmelzwaan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Robert Meineke, robert.meineke@tiho-hannover.de
Guus Rimmelzwaan, guus.rimmelzwaan@tiho-hannover.de

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material