Review
Host Immunity against Influenza Virus Infection
Lili Xu1,2, Zhengde Xie1,2,✉
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Pediatric Respiratory Infection Diseases, Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Key Discipline of Pediatrics (Capital Medical University), Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China. 2Research Unit of Critical infection in Children, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 2019RU016, China.
✉, Correspondence Zhengde Xie, Research Unit of Critical infection in Children, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 2019RU016, China. Email: [email protected]. Received: June 17, 2020. Accepted: January 19, 2021. Published online: January 20, 2021. Cite this paper: Lili Xu and Zhengde Xie. (2021) Host immunity against influenza virus infection. Global Journal of Immunology, 2(1):1-16. https://naturescholars.com/gji.020101. https://doi.org/10.46633/gji.020101. Copyright © 2021 by Scholars Publishing, LLC.
Abstract
Influenza is a major global health problem, causing infections of the respiratory tract, often leading to acute pneumonia, life-threatening complications and even death. During natural infection, viral replication is initially controlled by innate immunity before adaptive immune responses achieve viral clearance and host recovery. Adaptive T and B cells maintain immunological memory and provide protection against subsequent infections with related influenza viruses. Recent studies have also shed light on the role of innate T cells (MAIT cells, γδ T cells, and NKT cells) in controlling influenza and linking innate and adaptive immune mechanisms. Here, we review the various arms of the immune response to influenza virus infections and discuss how influenza viruses can escape immunity. These findings have helped delineate the interactions between influenza viruses and the host immune system, which will facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies and vaccines with enhanced efficacy.
Key words: Host Immunity, Influenza Virus Infection, Acute Pneumonia, Innate T Cells.