Abstract
Influenza A virus (IAV) infection significantly contributes to global mortality each year. Previous studies have shown that monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages recruited to the lung drive injury during influenza infection. However, the exact timing and mechanism of macrophage-driven lung damage is unknown. Here, we define three distinct patterns of gene expression in recruited macrophages over the first six days post-IAV infection in mice. Additionally, we demonstrate that Vim-/- mice infected with IAV exhibit decreased mortality, which was associated with a temporally altered transcriptional response in recruited macrophages. During the early inflammatory phase of IAV response, Vim-/- macrophages were characterized by a protective shift in macrophage activation. Furthermore, using a bone-marrow chimera mouse model, we demonstrate that vimentin deficiency in recruited macrophages is sufficient to confer protection from IAV-induced mortality. Taken together, our findings provide new insight into the temporal dynamics of macrophage function in response to IAV infection.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.