# Project 4

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA · 2021 · $248,075

## Abstract

Summary:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading viral agent causing bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children
under five years and RSV bronchiolitis often develop recurrent wheezing and asthma during childhood. It
remains unanswered whether RSV infection confers a long-term change in the host, which increases the
subsequent risk of asthma. We have optimized a system of pseudostratified, highly differentiated respiratory
epithelium by culturing primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells in an air-liquid interface (ALI)
culture to study how RSV infection increases the risk of asthma. Our preliminary data showed RSV infection of
the cultures increased actin-cytoskeleton, resulted in an expanded infected-cell perimeter. Additionally, we
found that many genes involved in epigenetic regulation of transcription were modulated during RSV infection.
Our central goal of this project is to investigate whether RSV-induced epigenetic changes contribute to asthma
progression. We will determine cell-specific epigenetic changes in the RSV-infected respiratory epithelium by
identify both intrinsic (cellular) and extrinsic (viral) factors contributing to asthma progression. We will also
determine how RSV proteins expression alters cellular transcription, splicing, and chromatin structure by
comparing gene expression, RNA splicing and chromatin accessibility. The results of the proposed studies will
establish a novel viral-induced epigenetic changes as an extrinsic factor and identify potential epigenetic
predictors of chronic lung diseases. This will eventually help to identify novel interventions against RSV and
RSV-dependent risk of asthma progression.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10270981
- **Project number:** 2P20GM113123-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Masfique Mehedi
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $248,075
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2016-05-13 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10270981

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10270981, Project 4 (2P20GM113123-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10270981. Licensed CC0.

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