Age‐related difference in immune responses to respiratory syncytial virus infection in young children

Abstract

There have been longitudinal studies of the developmental change of the immune system during the first year of life. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any age-related difference in cytokine responses to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection between the patients under 6 months of age and the patients over 12 months of age compared with age-matched controls. Forty-five children < or =24 months of age who were admitted with acute RSV bronchiolitis were enrolled. The patients were divided into two groups: the infants < or =6 months old and the young children > or =12 months old. Immune response to RSV infection was determined by measuring the serum concentrations of cytokines and compared with age-matched controls. Serum samples were obtained on admission and analyzed for interferon (IFN)-gamma, interleukins (IL)-10, -13, and -4 using ELISA. Comparing the cytokine levels of two control groups, both IFN-gamma and IL-13 were lower in the children > or =12 months of age than in the infants < or =6 months of age. IL-10 and IL-4 showed no significant changes with age. Comparing with age-matched controls, IFN-gamma levels were significantly higher in RSV group > or =12 months of age, but showed a tendency toward lower levels in RSV group < or =6 months of age. Both IL-10 and IL-13 levels were significantly higher in RSV group > or =12 months of age, but showed no significant difference in RSV group < or =6 months of age. Our study demonstrated a significant age-related difference in immune response to RSV infection during early life. It suggests that the developmental changes in cytokine responses to RSV infection may be considered in the control of RSV bronchiolitis in young children.

Highly frequent infections with human rhinovirus in healthy young children: A longitudinal cohort study

“…Several studies have shown that there are differences in cytokine profiles, T cell proliferation and Natural Killer Cell (NKC) activity between young children and adults. [30][31][32][33] This is supported by the fact that both re-infection and prolonged infection of HRV subtypes were only seen in the youngest children of the study population. Further studies are needed to unravel the association between age and the diversity of HRVs.…”

Cytokine response after severe respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis in early life

“…The differences in findings could be related to cellular location of cytokine production and age of the study population. In another study, Chung et al found that younger children with RSV infection (<6 months old) had diminished IFN-γ levels 19. In our study, we found that children infected at younger than 6 months of age were at increased risk of developing asthma at 6 years of age, however, they did not have significantly lower levels of INF-γ compared to the older children (Table 2).…”

Asthma in childhood: a complex, heterogeneous disease

“…Longitudinal studies on the development of the immune system have shown a significant age-related development during postnatal early life difference during early life4-6). Our previous study showed significant developmental changes in cytokine responses during the early years of life7). We also observed significant age-related differences in interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-13 responses in children with acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis7).…”