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pubmed:abstractText |
Mammalian reoviruses naturally infect their hosts through the enteric and respiratory tracts. During enteric infections, proteolysis of the reovirus outer capsid protein sigma3 is mediated by pancreatic serine proteases. In contrast, the proteases critical for reovirus replication in the lung are unknown. Neutrophil elastase (NE) is an acid-independent, inflammatory serine protease predominantly expressed by neutrophils. In addition to its normal role in microbial defense, aberrant expression of NE has been implicated in the pathology of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Because reovirus replication in rodent lungs causes ARDS-like symptoms and induces an infiltration of neutrophils, we investigated the capacity of NE to promote reovirus virion uncoating.
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