Growth of respiratory syncytial virus in primary epithelial cells from the human respiratory tract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most important cause of lower respiratory tract disease in infants and children. To study RSV replication, we have developed an in vitro model of human nasopharyngeal mucosa, human airway epithelium (HAE). RSV grows to moderate titers in HAE, though they are significantly lower than those in a continuous epithelial cell line, HEp-2. In HAE, RSV spreads over time to form focal collections of infected cells causing minimal cytopathic effect. Unlike HEp-2 cells, in which wild-type and live-attenuated vaccine candidate viruses grow equally well, the vaccine candidates exhibit growth in HAE that parallels their level of attenuation in children.