The Link Between Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Induced Lower Respiratory Tract Infection and Type 2 Inflammation in Asthma

• Published in: Clinical pediatrics Vol. 64; no. 8; p. 1152
• Main Authors: Ye, Bei, Teng, Shu, Zhan, Lu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.2025
• Subjects: Asthma - blood; Asthma - complications; Asthma - immunology; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Eosinophils; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Infant; Inflammation - blood; Interleukin-13 - blood; Male; Mucin 5AC - blood; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - blood; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - complications; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections - immunology; Respiratory Tract Infections - blood; Respiratory Tract Infections - complications; Respiratory Tract Infections - immunology; Respiratory Tract Infections - virology; type 2 asthma (T2 asthma); respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); IL-13; IgE; MUC5AC; eosinophils (EOS)
• ISSN: 1938-2707
• DOI: 10.1177/00099228251321597

To investigate the relationship between the type 2 inflammatory response associated with asthma and lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Sixty-seven children with RSV infection hospitalized in our hospital from October 2023 to December 2023 and 27 healthy children undergoing medical examination were included. The study population was divided into the RSV LRTI group ( = 67) and the control group ( = 27). Interleukin-13 (IL-13), serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE), mucin 5AC (MUC5AC), and blood eosinophil count (EOS) were tested and compared between the two groups. The presence or absence of specificity between the two groups was analyzed using the rank sum test and subject operating characteristic curves (Receiver Operating Characteristic curves, ROC curves). The levels of IL-13, IgE, MUC5AC, and EOS were higher in children with RSV LRTI compared to healthy children. These differences were statistically significant ( < .05). The ROC curve analysis results showed that IL-13, IgE, MUC5AC, and EOS predicted type 2 inflammation with areas under the curve of 0.687, 0.762, 0.764, and 0.646, respectively. A type 2 inflammatory response associated with asthma may be observed after RSV-induced LRTIs.