Asthma Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Asthma, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, causes, medications.

The role of virus-specific immunoglobulin E in airway hyperresponsiveness.

Dakhama A, Park JW, Taube C, Chayama K, Balhorn A, Joetham A, Wei XD, Fan RH, Swasey C, Miyahara N, Kodama T, Alvarez A, Takeda K, Gelfand EW

Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA. dakhamaa@njc.org

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis during infancy and is associated with subsequent wheezing and asthma, but the nature of this association is not fully understood. We investigated the role of RSV-specific IgE antibodies in the pathophysiology of virus-induced airway dysfunction in a mouse model. Lung infection with RSV resulted in significant increases in mRNA expression for IgE and both of its high- and low-affinity receptors. In serum, virus-specific IgE antibodies reached peak levels by Day 21 after infection. Data from in vitro experiments show that RSV can induce mast cell degranulation, but only if these cells are sensitized with specific IgE. When passively sensitized in vivo with virus-specific IgE, mice developed exaggerated airway responsiveness to methacholine on airway infection, an effect that required the high-affinity receptor of IgE. These data suggest that RSV-specific IgE may contribute to the pathophysiology of airway dysfunction in children who develop this class of specific antibody.

Published 26 October 2004 in Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 170(9): 952-9.
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