Publications by Walter Hugentobler

Comparative characterization of bronchial and nasal mucus reveals key determinants of influenza A virus inhibition

Tamar Kohn, Céline Terrettaz, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler

Differentiated primary human respiratory epithelial cells grown at air-liquid interface have become a widely used cell culture model of the human conducting airways. These cultures contain secretory cells such as goblet and club cells, which produce and se ...

American Society for Microbiology2025

Stability of influenza A virus in droplets and aerosols is heightened by the presence of commensal respiratory bacteria

Tamar Kohn, Htet Kyi Wynn, Céline Terrettaz, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Marta Augugliaro, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler, Laura José Costa Henriques, Daniel Scott Nolan

Aerosol transmission remains a major challenge for control of respiratory viruses, particularly those causing recurrent epidemics, like influenza A virus (IAV). These viruses are rarely expelled alone, but instead are embedded in a consortium of microorgan ...

American Society for Microbiology2024

Dependence of aerosol-borne influenza A virus infectivity on relative humidity and aerosol composition

Tamar Kohn, Céline Terrettaz, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler, Laura José Costa Henriques

We describe a novel biosafety aerosol chamber equipped with state-of-theart instrumentation for bubble-bursting aerosol generation, size distribution measurement, and condensation-growth collection to minimize sampling artifacts when measuring virus infect ...

Frontiers Media SA2024

Salt Supersaturation as an Accelerator of Influenza A Virus Inactivation in 1 μL Droplets

Tamar Kohn, Céline Terrettaz, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler, Laura José Costa Henriques

Influenza A virus (IAV) spreads through exhaled aerosol particles and larger droplets. Estimating the stability of IAV is challenging and depends on factors such as the respiratory matrix and drying kinetics. Here, we combine kinetic experiments on millime ...

2024

Impact of organic compounds on the stability of influenza A virus in deposited 1-μL droplets

Tamar Kohn, Céline Terrettaz, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler

The composition of respiratory fluids influences the stability of viruses in exhaled aerosol particles and droplets, though the role of respiratory organics in modulating virus stability remains poorly understood. This study investigates the effect of orga ...

2024

Inactivation mechanisms of influenza A virus under pH conditions encountered in aerosol particles as revealed by whole-virus HDX-MS

Tamar Kohn, Jonathan Paz Montoya, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Giovanni D'Angelo, Kalliopi Violaki, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler

Multiple respiratory viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), can be transmitted via expiratory aerosol particles, and aerosol pH was recently identified as a major factor influencing airborne virus infectivity. Indoors, small exhaled aerosols undergo r ...

2023

Expiratory Aerosol pH: The Overlooked Driver of Airborne Virus Inactivation

Tamar Kohn, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler

Respiratory viruses, including influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, are transmitted by the airborne route. Air filtration and ventilation mechanically reduce the concentration of airborne viruses and are necessary tools for disease mitigation. However, they ign ...

2023

Expiratory aerosol pH is determined by indoor room trace gases and particle size

Tamar Kohn, Aline Laetitia Schaub, Athanasios Nenes, Kalliopi Violaki, Shannon Christa David, Ghislain Gilles Jean-Michel Motos, Walter Hugentobler

2022