Metatranscriptomics uncovers host immune and microbiome signatures specific to and shared between human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus infections in children

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a prevalent respiratory virus in children with acute lower respiratory tract infections that is highly homologous with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the primary etiological agent of pediatric upper and lower respiratory tract infections. Although hMPV and RSV are the only human pathogens within the Pneumoviridae family and share similar clinical manifestations, the mechanisms underlying their divergent pathogenicity remain poorly understood. In this study, we performed transcriptomic analysis on clinical respiratory samples collected between 2017 and 2019 from 61 children: including hMPV-infected, RSV-infected and healthy controls. This analysis revealed a shared upregulation of antiviral response pathways, including neutrophil activation and signaling mediated by interferons and interleukins. Conversely, cilium organization and assembly pathways were commonly downregulated in both infections. hMPV infection uniquely upregulated pathways associated with extracellular component activity, ion channel complexes, and neuroactive ligand‒receptor interactions. In contrast, pathways related to membrane rafts and membrane microdomains were uniquely downregulated in hMPV-infected patients. Analysis of differentially expressed immune-related and interferon-stimulated genes revealed significant hMPV-specific increases in EGF and FCGR1A, alongside decreased EPAS1 expression. The genes that were uniquely upregulated during hMPV infection were enriched in cytokine production regulation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, and PI3K/AKT signaling, whereas those that were uniquely downregulated involved the viral entry and endocytic vesicle pathways. Both hMPV infection and RSV infection significantly increased the proportions of M1 macrophages and neutrophils but decreased the proportions of M0 and M2 macrophages. Notably, hMPV infection resulted in a significant increase in monocytes and activated NK cells coupled with a decrease in resting memory CD4⁺ T cells, compared with RSV infection. The results also revealed a significantly greater relative abundance of Prevotella salivae in the hMPV infection group, whereas Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus mitis were enriched in the RSV group. These distinct immune and microbial signatures provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of pediatric hMPV and RSV infections.