Pifferi Massimo, Maggi Fabrizio, Andreoli Elisabetta, Lanini Letizia, Marco Emanuela De, Fornai Claudia, Vatteroni Maria Linda, Pistello Mauro, Ragazzo Vincenzo, Macchia Pierantonio, Boner Attilio, Bendinelli Mauro
Department of Pediatrics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
J Infect Dis. 2005 Oct 1;192(7):1141-8. doi: 10.1086/444389. Epub 2005 Aug 29.
Fifty-nine children with well-controlled, mild to moderate persistent asthma were studied for the presence and load of torquetenovirus (TTV) in nasal fluid. Rates of TTV positivity and mean nasal TTV loads were not dissimilar to those observed in the general population and in a group of 30 age- and residence-matched healthy control children without a history of asthmatic disease. However, in the children with asthma, 3 important indices of lung function--forced expiratory flow (FEF) in which 25% and 75% of forced vital capacity (FVC) is expired (FEF(25%-75%)), forced expiratory volume in 1 s/FVC, and FEF(25%-75%)/FVC--showed an inverse correlation with nasal TTV load. Furthermore, signs of reduced airflow were more frequent in the children with asthma who had high nasal TTV loads (> or =6 log(10) DNA copies/mL of nasal fluid) than they were in those who had low nasal TTV loads (<6 log(10) DNA copies/mL of nasal fluid), despite similar therapy regimens. In contrast, the control children showed no associations between nasal TTV load and the spirometric indices. Levels of eosinophil cationic protein in sputum were also greater in the children with asthma who had higher nasal viral burdens than they were in those who had lower nasal viral burdens. These findings are the first report of TTV infection status in children with asthma and suggest that TTV might be a contributing factor in the lung impairment caused by this condition.
对59名病情得到良好控制的轻至中度持续性哮喘儿童的鼻分泌物中Torque teno病毒（TTV）的存在情况和载量进行了研究。TTV阳性率和鼻TTV平均载量与普通人群以及一组30名年龄和居住地匹配、无哮喘病史的健康对照儿童中观察到的情况并无差异。然而，在哮喘儿童中，3项重要的肺功能指标——用力肺活量（FVC）的25%和75%时的用力呼气流量（FEF）（FEF（25%-75%））、1秒用力呼气容积/FVC以及FEF（25%-75%）/FVC——与鼻TTV载量呈负相关。此外，尽管治疗方案相似，但鼻TTV载量高（≥6 log₁₀ DNA拷贝/mL鼻分泌物）的哮喘儿童中气流受限的体征比鼻TTV载量低（<6 log₁₀ DNA拷贝/mL鼻分泌物）的儿童更常见。相比之下，对照儿童的鼻TTV载量与肺量计指标之间无关联。鼻病毒载量较高的哮喘儿童痰液中的嗜酸性粒细胞阳离子蛋白水平也高于鼻病毒载量较低的儿童。这些发现是关于哮喘儿童TTV感染状况的首次报告，表明TTV可能是导致该疾病所致肺功能损害的一个促成因素。
