Respiratory syncytial virus infection increases regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 levels in serum of patients with asthma and in human monocyte cultures

Abstract

BackgroundRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is associated to episodic exacerbations of asthma involving alveolar macrophages and chemokine production. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the circulating levels of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and substance P (SP) in patients with and without asthma with acute respiratory RSV infection and the chemokine profile in RSV- infected monocyte cultures from normal individuals and individuals with asthma. MethodsIn this regard, 31 adult patients with acute respiratory infection (15 patients with asthma) were studied. MCP-1, RANTES and SP were measured in serum and in supernatants from monocyte cultures by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ResultsIncreased levels of MCP-1 and RANTES were observed in serum from patients with asthma related to RSV infection. RSV-infected monocyte cultures from healthy individuals showed increased content of those chemokines, and monocyte cultures from patients with asthma showed increased expression of MCP-1. ConclusionThese data show that RSV infection induces increased circulating level of chemokines in patients with asthma, and this finding could be mediated in part by the interaction virus-monocyte.