Membrane-Tethered Mucin 1 is Stimulated by Interferon in Multiple Cell Types and Antagonizes Influenza A Virus Infection in Human Airway Epithelium
Authors: Iverson Ethan , Griswold Kira , Song Daniel , Gagliardi Talita B. , Hamidzadeh Kajal , Kesimer Mehmet , Sinha Sanju , Perry Melissa , Duncan Gregg A. , Scull Margaret A. 
Published: March 2021

Influenza A virus (IAV) causes seasonal epidemics and periodic pandemics, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in the human population. Tethered mucin 1 (MUC1) is highly expressed in airway epithelium, the primary site of IAV replication, and also by other cell types that influence IAV infection, including macrophages. MUC1 has the potential to influence infection dynamics through physical interactions and/or signaling activity, and recent work suggests MUC1 acts as a releasable decoy receptor and anti-inflammatory molecule during IAV infection. Still, the modulation of MUC1 and its impact during viral pathogenesis remains unclear. Thus, we sought to further investigate the interplay between MUC1 and IAV in anin vitromodel of primary human airway epithelium (HAE). Our data indicate that a recombinant IAV hemagglutinin (H3) and H3N2 virus can bind endogenous HAE MUC1. We find that infection of HAE cultures with H1N1 or H3N2 IAV strains does not trigger enhanced MUC1 shedding, but instead stimulates an increase in cell-associated MUC1 protein. We observed a similar increase after stimulation with either type I or type III interferon (IFN); however, inhibition of IFN signaling during H1N1 infection only partially abrogated this increase, indicating multiple soluble factors contribute to MUC1 upregulation during the antiviral response. We expanded these findings and demonstrate that in addition to HAE, primary human monocyte-derived macrophages also upregulate MUC1 protein in response to both IFN treatment and conditioned media from IAV-infected HAE cultures. We then developed HAE genetically depleted for MUC1 to determine its impact on IAV pathogenesis, finding that MUC1 knock-out cultures exhibited enhanced viral growth compared to control cultures for several IAV strains. Together, our data support a model whereby MUC1 antagonizes productive uptake of IAV in HAE. Infection then stimulates MUC1 expression on multiple cell types through IFN-dependent and -independent mechanisms that may further impact infection dynamics.

Author Summary

The mucosal surface of the respiratory epithelium is an important site of first contact for viral respiratory pathogens. Large and heavily glycosylated molecules known as tethered mucins extend from the cell surface and may physically restrict access to underlying cells. Recently, one of these tethered mucins, MUC1, has also been shown to influence cell signaling and inflammation. Still, despite its abundance in the airway and multifunctional capability, the role of MUC1 during influenza virus infection in the human respiratory tract remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that influenza virus directly interacts with MUC1 in a physiologically-relevant model of human airway epithelium and find that MUC1 protein expression is elevated throughout the epithelium and in primary human monocyte-derived macrophages in response to important antiviral signals produced during infection. Using genetically-modified human airway cultures lacking MUC1, we then provide evidence of more efficient influenza virus infection in the absence of this mucin. Our data suggest that MUC1 not only physically restricts influenza virus uptake, but also represents a dynamic component of the host response that acts to further stem viral spread.