Nanoparticle-Exposure-Triggered Virus Reactivation Induces Lung Emphysema in Mice

Nanoparticles (NPs) released from engineered materials or combustion processes as well as persistent herpesvirus infection are omnipresent and are associated with chronic lung diseases. Previously, we showed that pulmonary exposure of a single dose of soot-like carbonaceous NPs (CNPs) or fiber-shaped double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) induced an increase of lytic virus protein expression in mouse lungs latently infected with murine gamma-herpesvirus 68 (MHV-68), with a similar pattern to acute infection suggesting virus reactivation. Here we investigate the effects of a more relevant repeated NP exposure on lung disease development as well as herpesvirus reactivation mechanistically and suggest an avenue for therapeutic prevention. In the MHV-68 mouse model, progressive lung inflammation and emphysema-like injury were detected 1 week after repetitive CNP and DWCNT exposure. NPs reactivated the latent herpesvirus mainly in CD11b+ macrophages in the lungs. In vitro, in persistently MHV-68 infected bone marrow-derived macrophages, ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 MAPK were rapidly activated after CNP and DWCNT exposure, followed by viral gene expression and increased viral titer but without generating a pro-inflammatory signature. Pharmacological inhibition of p38 activation abrogated CNP- but not DWCNT-triggered virus reactivation in vitro, and inhibitor pretreatment of latently infected mice attenuated CNP-exposure-induced pulmonary MHV-68 reactivation. Our findings suggest a crucial contribution of particle-exposure-triggered herpesvirus reactivation for nanomaterial exposure or air pollution related lung emphysema development, and pharmacological p38 inhibition might serve as a protective target to alleviate air pollution related chronic lung disease exacerbations. Because of the required precondition of latent infection described here, the use of single hit models might have severe limitations when assessing the respiratory toxicity of nanoparticle exposure.