Wu Xiaorong, Zhou Xiong, Hu Yuxiang, Liu Chao, Wang Jun
Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, People's Republic of China.
Second Department of Respiratory Disease, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, No 152, Aiguo Road, DongHu District, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China.
Immunol Res. 2017 Jun;65(3):721-728. doi: 10.1007/s12026-017-8909-z.
Increasing evidence suggests that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection during the early life is an important risk factor for the development of asthma. RSV infection is associated with neurogenic inflammation in the airways along with the increased expression of nerve growth factor (NGF). However, the role of NGF in RSV infection is not clear. In this study, we infected the rat with RSV and treated these animals with anti-NGF neutralization antibody. We found that anti-NGF treatment significantly alleviated the lung inflammation as evidenced by decreased inflammatory infiltration and decreased airway resistance. Importantly, anti-NGF treatment resulted in increased Th1, but decreased Th2 immune responses, and facilitated the viral control in the tissues and blood. Therefore, NGF inhibited Th2 but increased Th1 responses in RSV infection. Pharmacological intervention of NGF signaling during severe RSV infections could prevent or decrease further asthma symptoms.
越来越多的证据表明，生命早期的呼吸道合胞病毒（RSV）感染是哮喘发生的一个重要危险因素。RSV感染与气道中的神经源性炎症以及神经生长因子（NGF）表达增加有关。然而，NGF在RSV感染中的作用尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们用RSV感染大鼠并用抗NGF中和抗体处理这些动物。我们发现，抗NGF治疗显著减轻了肺部炎症，表现为炎症浸润减少和气道阻力降低。重要的是，抗NGF治疗导致Th1反应增加，但Th2免疫反应降低，并促进了组织和血液中的病毒控制。因此，在RSV感染中，NGF抑制Th2但增加Th1反应。在严重RSV感染期间对NGF信号进行药理干预可以预防或减轻进一步的哮喘症状。
