Th-1 and Th-2 cytokine production in infants with virus-associated wheezing

Abstract

Wheezing associated with respiratory viral infections in infancy is very common and results in high morbidity worldwide. The Th1/Th2 pattern of immune response in these patients remains unclear and previous studies have shown controversial results. The aim of the present study was to compare the type of Th1/Th2 cytokine response between infants with acute bronchiolitis, recurrent wheezing and upper respiratory infections from a developing country. Infants younger than 2 years of age admitted to Hospital São Lucas, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, between May and November 2001, with an acute episode of wheezing associated with viral respiratory infection were selected. Subjects with upper respiratory infections from the emergency department were selected for the control group. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels from nasal aspirates were determined by ELISA from peripheral mononuclear cell cultures. Twenty-nine subjects with acute bronchiolitis, 18 with recurrent wheezing and 15 with upper respiratory infections were enrolled. There were no differences in family history of atopy or parental smoking between groups. Oxygen requirement was similar for the acute bronchiolitis and recurrent wheezing groups. The percentage of positive tests for the cytokines studied and the IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio was similar for all groups. Comparison of the polarized Th1/Th2 cytokine results for the various groups showed no specific pattern of cytokine production. Infants with wheezing from a developing country do not show any specific predominant pattern of Th1/Th2 cytokine production, suggesting that multiple factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of this illness.

Concentrations of IL-15, IL-18, IFN-γ and activity of CD4+, CD8+ and NK cells at admission in children with viral bronchiolitis

“…an increase in il-15 concentrations in relation to the time elapsed before hospitalization was observed in our study, suggesting that il-15 may also be a sensitive marker of the severity of the disease (33)(34)(35). therefore, in future studies we will investigate the concentrations of il-15, il-18, iFn-γ, t lymphocytes and nK cells throughout the period of hospitalization for bronchiolitis.…”

Low-fat yoghurt intake in pregnancy associated with increased child asthma and allergic rhinitis risk: a prospective cohort study

“…These conditions may also never develop into allergic disease but cease as the child grows and lung size increases. The bacterial and viral infections responsible for early wheezing have been shown to be characterised by both Th1 and Th2 responses depending on the specific organism, disease severity and genetic background ( 32 – 34 ) . Consequently, exposure to different nutrient components in dairy products in fetal life may have an impact on early immune processes differently compared with processes involved in allergic disease development in later childhood, and may involve distinct cellular and molecular components specific to a Th1 or a Th2 mechanism, or both.…”

Infant Viral Respiratory Infection Nasal Immune-Response Patterns and Their Association with Subsequent Childhood Recurrent Wheeze

“…As the innate immune response is central to the initial defense against RSV (10)(11)(12)(13), infection may contribute to early life reprogramming of an infant's immune response (14)(15)(16)(17)(18). Prior studies have assessed only individual cytokines or immune cell lineage (19)(20)(21)(22), which does not capture the whole spectrum of immune response to infection (23). Advances in technologies and computational approaches make it possible to examine the immune-response pattern in response to an environmental risk factor, such as RSV, through analysis of multiple components of the immune system simultaneously (24,25).…”