Pediatr Allergy Respir Dis.  2012 Dec;22(4):383-389.

Increased Nasal Interleukin-33 in the Infants with Acute Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis

• Yang SH
• Chu MA
• Park HJ
• Lee KH
• Kim WT
• Chung HL

Abstract

PURPOSE
Interleukin (IL)-33, a member of the IL-1 cytokine family, is considered to be important for innate-type mucosal immunity of the lung and also has been suggested to induce Th2-type immune responses. We aimed to investigate if IL-33 is involved in airway inflammation due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in young children.
METHODS
Thirty-eight infants (< or =24 months of age) admitted with their first episode of RSV bronchiolitis were enrolled in the study. Atopy was defined by having at least 1 allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), positive result to skin prick test, or high serum IgE levels. The patients were assessed to have severe symptoms when they had > or =2 of the following clinical findings: hypoxemia (<92% oxygen saturation), rapid breathing (and/or lower chest wall indrawing), and >7 days of hospital stay. The levels of IL-33 and the IL-33 receptor (sST2) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in nasal secretion samples collected from the patients on admission and compared with 20 age-matched controls. We also investigated the levels of IL-33 and sST2 in relation to the atopic status and symptom severity of the patients.
RESULTS
Nasal IL-33 levels in the patients with acute RSV bronchiolitis were significantly increased (P<0.05), but sST2 showed no difference compared to the controls. Neither IL-33 nor sST2 showed significant difference in relation to the atopic status or severity of symptoms.
CONCLUSION
Our study showed significantly increased IL-33 in the nasal secretions of the young infants admitted with acute RSV bronchiolitis and suggests that IL-33 is involved in the pathogenesis of RSV-induced airway inflammation.

Keyword

Interleukin-33; Iinterleukin-33 receptor; Respiratory syncytial virus; Bronchiolitis; Infant

MeSH Terms

Anoxia
Bronchiolitis
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Immunity, Mucosal
Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulins
Infant
Inflammation
Interleukin-1
Interleukins
Length of Stay
Lung
Oxygen
Respiration
Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Skin
Thoracic Wall
Immunoglobulin E
Immunoglobulins
Interleukin-1
Interleukins
Oxygen

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Interleukin (IL)-33 levels in nasal secretion of the patients with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis were significantly increased compared to the control levels.

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  Fig. 2 Interleukin (IL)-33 receptor (sST2) levels showed no significant difference between the patients with respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis and controls.

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