Infection of human airway epithelial cells by different subtypes of Dobrava-Belgrade virus reveals gene expression patterns corresponding to their virulence potential

Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) is a pathogen causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Europe. Virulence and case fatality rate are associated with virus genotype; however the reasons for these differences are not well understood. In this work we present virus-specific effects on the gene expression profiles of human lung epithelial cells (A549) infected with different genotypes of DOBV (Dobrava, Kurkino, and Sochi), as well as the low-virulent Tula virus (TULV). The data was collected by whole-genome gene expression microarrays and confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Despite their close genetic relationship, the expression profiles induced by infection with different hantaviruses are significantly varying. Major differences were observed in regulation of immune response genes, which were especially induced by highly virulent DOBV genotypes Dobrava and Sochi in contrast to less virulent DOBV-Kurkino and TULV. This work gives first insights into the differences of virus - host interactions of DOBV on genotype level.