# Immunomodulatory Function of Epithelial Exosomes in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2020 · $197,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Acute respiratory tract infections are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections in children, elderly and in
immunocompromised patients, as well as of asthma exacerbations. No effective treatment or vaccine for RSV
is currently available, and many fundamental questions regarding the pathogenesis of RSV-induced lung
disease have yet to be answered. Exosomes are microvesicles which in recent years have been shown to
transfer biologically active proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, and therefore participate in cell to cell
communication, inflammation, antigen presentation, programmed cell death, and disease pathogenesis. In
recent investigations, we found that RSV induces significant changes in exosomal RNA cargo composition, as
exosomes isolated from RSV-infected cells carry both viral proteins and viral RNA along with host mRNA and
rRNA fragments, as well as small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), such as miRNAs, piRNAs and tRNAs, in a
proportion different from exosomes isolated from mock-infected cells. Exosome-mediated export of host/viral
components may have variety of outcomes, serving both as a viral strategy to evade pathogen sensing in
infected cells and host strategy to induce innate responses in neighboring uninfected cells. In this application,
we will investigate whether epithelial-derived exosomes modulate innate immune responses and viral
replication using in vitro and in vivo models of RSV infection, and we will identify targets of novel sncRNAs
enriched in epithelial-derived exosomes in response to viral infection. A better understanding of how exosomes
may influence disease pathogenesis by facilitating or inhibiting immune responses in the course of RSV
infection will provide valuable insights into host-pathogen interactions and possibly identify novel targets for
therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9831129
- **Project number:** 5R21AI142570-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Antonella Casola
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $197,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-12-03 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9831129

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9831129, Immunomodulatory Function of Epithelial Exosomes in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (5R21AI142570-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9831129. Licensed CC0.

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