Nasopharyngeal Haemophilus and local immune response during infant respiratory syncytial virus infection

• Authors: Meghan H. Shilts, Vanderbilt University; Christian Rosas-Salazar, Vanderbilt University; Kedir N. Turi, Vanderbilt University; Devi Rajan, Emory University; Seesandra V. Rajagopala, Vanderbilt University; Megan F. Patterson, Vanderbilt University; Tebeb Gebretsadik, Vanderbilt University; Larry Anderson, Emory University; R. Stokes Peebles, Vanderbilt University; Tina V. Hartert, Vanderbilt University; Suman R. Das, Vanderbilt University
• Journal Title: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• Volume: Volume 147, Number 3
• Publisher: Mosby-Elsevier | 2021-03-01, Pages 1097-1101
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.06.023
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Allergy; Immunology; Asthma; Children; Association; Validation; Risk

Abstract

The accumulating evidence suggests that viral-bacterial interactions can affect short- and long-term outcomes of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infancy. In particular, prior studies have found that in young children with RSV ARIs, a higher relative abundance of Haemophilus in the nasopharynx is associated with an increased viral load,1 delayed viral clearance,2 a different gene expression profile,3 , 4 and more severe disease.3 , 4 However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are largely unknown. To address this gap in knowledge, we examined the association of the nasopharyngeal relative abundance of Haemophilus with viral load and 52 local immune mediators in 105 infants with an RSV-only ARI (ie, no coinfections) who were enrolled in the Infant Susceptibility to Pulmonary Infections and Asthma following RSV Infection in Infancy (INSPIRE) study.