Explaining H1N1

Direct electron microscopic studies of the pandemic H1N1 virus by the National Institute of Virology NIV have yielded first-of-their-kind images of how it replicates in patients lower lungs. The research by Dr Atanu Basus group at NIV was published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Electron Microscopy.

Through high-resolution electron microscopy on necropsied tissues from fatal cases,Dr Basu and his team explain how the 2009 influenza virus caused damage to human lung cells. The study could identify active virus infection in a type of lung cell called Type II alveolar pneumocytesvery important for maintaining normal lung functions. The findings may also have direct implication in the possible development of novel therapeutic agents that might help protect lung cells from virus induced injury,says Basu,Deputy Director of NIV and head of Electron Microscopy and Pathology group at NIV. He will soon be honoured as an Electron Microscope Society of India EMSI fellow in recognition of his work. We biopsied the lungs of 40 fatal cases with the virus and found it replicating in the lower lungs, says Basu. Subsequently researchers examined five necroscopy specimenstwo males,three females and a three-and-a-half-year-old child. None of the patients had any pre-existing pulmonary or high risk conditions and all developed acute respiratory distress and died within 5-10 days of admission to a tertiary centre. The EM observations of the specimens showed novel features where the round-shaped virus particles were seen budding within the dilated cytoplasmic cisternaewhich was not

reported previously.