Emerging role for interferons in respiratory viral infections and childhood asthma

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Rhinovirus (RV) infections are major triggers of severe lower respiratory illnesses (sLRI) in infants and children and are strongly associated with the subsequent development of asthma. Decades of research has focused on the role of type I interferons in antiviral immunity and ensuing airway diseases, however, recent findings have highlighted several novel aspects of the interferon response that merit further investigation. In this perspective, we discuss emerging roles of type I interferons in the pathogenesis of sLRI in children. We propose that variations in interferon response patterns exist as discrete endotypes, which operate locally in the airways and systemically through a lung-blood-bone marrow axis. We discuss new insights into the role of interferons in immune training, bacterial lysate immunotherapy, and allergen-specific immunotherapy. Interferons play complex and diverse roles in the pathogenesis of sLRI and later asthma, providing new directions for mechanistic studies and drug development.

The Impact of Non-pharmacological Interventions Measures Against COVID-19 on Respiratory Virus in Preschool Children in Henan, China

“…Our data also revealed that infants under 3 years old were more susceptible to respiratory viral infections than children 3–7 years old, mainly due to physiological differences in the respiratory tract and immaturity of the immune system [ 23 , 24 ]. And infants under 3 years old performed worse on NPIs measures than older children, so the study data presented that infants were less sensitive to the protective effect of NPIs measures.…”

Dysfunctional neutrophil type 1 interferon responses in preschool children with recurrent wheezing and IL-4–mediated aeroallergen sensitization

“… 10 It is also recognized that neutrophil responses to viral infection, like in patients with asthma, are equally heterogeneous and may reflect differing endotypes of wheezing. 11 For example, recent multiomics studies of nasopharyngeal samples (that are predominantly composed of neutrophils 12 ) from young children hospitalized with bronchiolitis have identified discrete endotypes of childhood asthma susceptibility that vary according to viral etiology, underlying type 2–mediated inflammation, and the nature and intensity of the immune response. 13 , 14 To date, neutrophils have been underappreciated in young children with wheezing illnesses10 and there are very limited studies of neutrophil responses to viruses in preschool children with recurrent wheezing.…”