Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40712003›Full record

ArticleEmerging microbes & infections2025

Emerging highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza triggers fibrotic remodeling in human airway organoids.

Hussin Rothan, Ahmed Mostafa, Mahmoud Bayoumi, Chengjin Ye, Ramya S Barre, Anna Allué-Guardia, Aitor Nogales, Jordi B Torrelles, Luis Martinez-Sobrido

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Emerging microbes & infections, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Human lung organoids model for assessing host response toFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Hussin RothanHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Ahmed MostafaHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Mahmoud BayoumiHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Chengjin YeHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Ramya S BarreHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Anna Allué-GuardiaInternational Center for the Advancement of Research and Education (I•CARE), Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Aitor NogalesCenter for Animal Health Research, CISA-INIA-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
Jordi B TorrellesInternational Center for the Advancement of Research and Education (I•CARE), Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.
Luis Martinez-SobridoHost-pathogen interactions (HPI) and Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP) Programs, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Funding

Dynamics of the protective vaccine-induced human influenza neuraminidase B cell responseR01AI145332 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · PI KOBIE, JAMES J, MARTINEZ-SOBRIDO, LUIS · 2019 to 2022
$3.0M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI145332
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b has affected at least 989 dairy herds across 17 states in the United States (U.S.) and resulted in 70 confirmed human infections, underscoring the urgent need to understand the pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions of emerging H5N1 viruses. In this study, we modelled infection with a highly pathogenic recombinant human A/Texas/37/2024 H5N1 (rHPh-TX H5N1) strain using human airway organoids (HAO) to investigate viral replication, innate immune response, infection-induced fibrogenesis, and potential therapeutic interventions. rHPh-TX H5N1 replicated efficiently in HAO, eliciting a robust interferon (IFN) response and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Prolonged infection led to the accumulation of fibroblast-like cells surrounding infected regions, marked by increased alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and upregulation of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), indicative of fibroblast activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling. Compared to organoids infected with the pandemic A/California/04/09 H1N1 (pH1N1) strain, rHPh-TX H5N1 induced significantly higher expression of fibrosis-associated markers, including fibronectin (FN), collagen 1A (COL1A), collagen 3A (COL3A), metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2, and MMP9). Notably, the inhibition of Rho-associated coiled-coil-forming protein kinases (ROCK) signalling reduced fibrogenesis, with ROCK1 inhibition being more effective than ROCK2 inhibition. These findings highlight the potential of targeting ROCK signalling to mitigate H5N1-induced lung fibrosis, informing therapeutic strategies for severe influenza infections.

Indexed as

Influenza A Virus, H5N1 SubtypeInfluenza, HumanOrganoidsAnimalsCytokinesFibroblastsFibrosisHumansVirus ReplicationCytokinesfibrogenesisHuman airway organoidsinfluenza virusprolonged infectionROCK signalling pathway

Identifiers

PMID40712003
PMCPMC12302397

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.