Influenza-virus infection impacts on alveolar edema clearance: role of virus- and host factors in regulation of alveolar epithelial cell ENaC and Na,K-ATPase expression

Influenza A viruses (IV) can cause primary viral pneumonia in humans resulting in acute lung injury (ALI/ARDS) with fatal outcome. One of the hallmarks of IV-induced ALI is the accumulation of edema fluid in the alveolar compartment, which under normal conditions is cleared along a sodium gradient established by basolateral Na,K-ATPase and the apical epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). IV-infection was found to be associated with a decrease in alveolar fluid clearance (AFC). Therefore we aim to investigate the regulation of ENaC and Na,K-ATPase in IV-infection by viral and host factors to characterize the molecula…