Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Reactive Airway Disease

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Matthew T. Lotz, Vanderbilt University; Martin Moore, Emory University; R. Stokes Jr Peebles, Vanderbilt University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-01-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38919-1_5
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology
• ISSN: 0070-217X
• Volume: 372
• Start Page: 105
• End Page: 118
• Grant/Funding Information: National Institutes of Health R01 HL 090664, R01 AI 070672, R01 AI 059108, GM 015431, R21 HL106446, U19AI095227, and Veteran Affairs (1I01BX000624).
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; INFLAMMATION; RISK-FACTORS; VIRAL-INFECTIONS; ASTHMA; INFANTS; LUNG-FUNCTION; Virology; BRONCHIAL HYPERRESPONSIVENESS; EARLY-LIFE; BRONCHIOLITIS; Respiratory System; Science & Technology; Immunology; YOUNG-CHILDREN
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Biology, Virology; Health Sciences, Immunology

Abstract

Reactive airway disease (RAD) is a general term for respiratory illnesses manifested by wheezing. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) results in wheezing, either by causing bronchiolitis or by inducing acute exacerbations of asthma. There has been a long-standing interest in whether severe RSV bronchiolitis in infancy is a risk factor for the development of asthma later in childhood. While epidemiologic studies have suggested that such a link exists, a very recent study suggests that infants with greater airways responsiveness to methacholine instead have an increased prevalence of severe RSV bronchiolitis. Increased airways responsiveness to methacholine has been implicated as a key factor for loss of lung function in asthmatic subjects, suggesting that instead of being causal, severe RSV infection may instead be a marker of a predisposing factor for asthma. In this chapter, we will explore the evidence that RSV infection leads to RAD in infants and adults, and how these different forms of RAD may be linked.