HMPV Impairs Macrophage Phagocytosis Through a Replication-Dependent Mechanism Associated with Reduced CD36 Expression and the Viral G Protein
Iván Martínez-Espinoza, Pius I. Babawale, Basel Abuaita, Antonieta Guerrero-Plata · 2026
Read HMPV Impairs Macrophage Phagocytosis Through a Replication-Dependent Mechanism Associated with Reduced CD36 Expression and the Viral G Protein by Iván Martínez-Espinoza, Pius I. Babawale, Basel Abuaita, Antonieta Guerrero-Plata (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13308088.txt.
Description
Iván Martínez-Espinoza and colleagues show in 2026 that human metapneumovirus weakens the ability of macrophages to swallow bacteria, a side effect that may invite secondary infections. Infected lab-grown macrophages took up far fewer bacteria, and the defect appeared only in cells the virus had actually entered. Fluid from infected cultures did not transfer the problem.
A scavenger receptor called CD36 dropped on infected cells, matching mouse lung data across macrophage groups. Silencing the viral G protein restored normal uptake, which fingers that protein as a driver. Related receptor genes also fell in infected mouse lung tissue. Respiratory viruses are often blamed for paving the way to bacterial pneumonia, and the authors supply a concrete mechanism. Blocking the G protein effect, they suggest, could preserve antibacterial defence during infection.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Iván Martínez-Espinoza, Pius I. Babawale, Basel Abuaita, Antonieta Guerrero-Plata |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 50 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |