Transcriptome alterations induced by acute and persistent human bocavirus 1 infection in human airway epithelial cells

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) is a common cause of respiratory tract infection in children. It replicates efficiently in human airway epithelial (HAE) cells and is shed into the airways for months after acute infection. It further persists in B cells of tonsillar germinal centers with unknown consequences. Our aim was to compare how acute and persistent virus infections influence the cells. We performed total RNA sequencing to investigate the cellular transcriptomes of HBoV1-infected polarized HAE cells at 7, 14 and 30 days post infection, and compared the biological pathways enriched across these different time points. We observed significant activation in the interferon signaling pathway and elevation of pattern recognition receptors, including toll-like receptor 2, only in the acute phase, whereas a slight elevation of the p53-signaling pathway was still observed after 30 days. The results indicate that the cells seem to reach an equilibrium state with the virus where viral activity and cellular impact are balanced.