Pulmonary peptidergic innervation remodeling and development of airway hyperresponsiveness induced by RSV persistent infection.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection causes bronchiolitis in infants and children, which is an important risk factor for the development of chronic asthma. To probe the underlying mechanisms that RSV infection increases the susceptibility of asthma, this present study was designed to establish a RSV persistent infection animal model by cyclophosphamide (CYP) pretreatment that more closely mimic human RSV infection. CYP is an immunosuppressant, which induced deficiency in cellular and humoral immunity. Pulmonary RSV titers, airway function and peptidergic innervation were measured on 7d, 28 d, 42 d and 60 d postinfection. The results showed that during RSV persistent infection, the lungs of RSV-inoculated animals pretreated with CYP showed higher RSV titers and exhibited obvious chronic inflammation. The results also showed that protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5), substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-immunoreactive fibers increased and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-immunoreactive fibers decreased during RSV persistent infection. These results demonstrate that RSV persistent infection induces significant alterations in the peptidergic innervation in the airways, which may be associated with the development of altered airway function.
Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410078, Hunan, China.
Yu-Rong
YR
Tan
Tao
T
Yang
Shui-Ping
SP
Liu
Yang
Y
Xiang
Fei
F
Qu
Hui-Jun
HJ
Liu
Xiao-Qun
XQ
Qin
D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012130:Respiratory Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase / Q000378:metabolism
D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009479:Neuropeptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D043222:Ubiquitin Thiolesterase