Journal: Pathogens

Article Title: Distinct Cytokine Landscapes Induced by Influenza a Virus, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 in Older Adults (65+) Using an Ex Vivo Whole Blood Stimulation Model

doi: 10.3390/pathogens15020139

Figure Lengend Snippet: Heatmaps of cytokine gene expression in ex vivo whole-blood cultures from older adults (≥65 years) stimulated with UV-inactivated respiratory viruses. Heatmaps depict the mean fold increase in mRNA levels of 22 cytokines and chemokines relative to unstimulated controls for each donor after 24 h incubation with Influenza A/H1N1, RSV type A2, or SARS-CoV-2. Rows list individual cytokine genes (left axis), and columns correspond to donors grouped females (red bracket) and males (blue bracket). The color-coded scale bar on the right indicates the mRNA expression levels, ranging from 0 (blue, minimum) to 50 (red, maximum).

Article Snippet: Specifically, RSV Type A2 strain (ATCC VR-1540), Influenza A (clinical isolate A/H1N1); SARS-CoV-2 (clinical isolate belonging to the B lineage, Wuhan strain) were propagated to obtain viral stocks and titers were determined by standard plaque assays.

Techniques: Gene Expression, Ex Vivo, Incubation, Expressing