Longitudinal plasma cytokine concentrations and recurrent wheezing after RSV bronchiolitis

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in young children has been associated with increased risk for developing recurrent wheezing, but the underlying mechanisms, are not completely defined. We hypothesized that RSV induces a disregulated immune response defined by a distinct cytokine profile in infants at increased risk for developing recurrent wheezing.

Previously healthy infants less than 12 months of age hospitalized with a first episode of RSV bronchiolitis were enrolled and blood samples and clinical and epidemiological data collected. A group of healthy non-infected controls were enrolled in parallel. Children were followed longitudinally and subsequent blood samples collected in RSV-infected infants at one month and at one year after hospital discharge to measure longitudinal plasma concentrations of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17 and IL1-β. Risk of post-RSV wheezing was assessed by Poisson modelling.

From October 2008 to March 2012 we enrolled 37 infants hospitalized with RSV bronchiolitis and 9 healthy age-matched controls. Within the RSV cohort, 17 (46%) children developed recurrent wheezing within the following 12 months. Plasma cytokine profiles measured during the acute infection were similar in children who developed recurrent wheezing versus those who did not, but lower in healthy controls vs RSV infants who subsequently developed wheezing. At one month and 12 months post-acute RSV infection, infants who developed recurrent wheezing had higher IFN-γ plasma concentrations versus those with no-wheezing (p < 0.05). Moreover, IFN-γ concentrations were identified as independent predictor of post-RSV wheezing.

Children with RSV-associated recurrent wheezing had persistently elevated plasma concentrations of IFN-γ for a year after acute infection, suggesting that this cytokine could be used as a biomarker for risk of recurrent wheezing and possibly plays a role in the pathogenesis of this condition.