Abstract
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most frequent cause of bronchiolitis. However the pathophysiology of bronchiolitis is unclear. Leukocytes, especially neutrophils, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchiolitis. Whereas we have previously shown that neutrophils augment epithelial leakage and detachment in RSV infection in vitro, it is unknown whether epithelial damage occurs in vivo in infants with RSV bronchiolitis. We hypothesized that respiratory epithelial damage occurs in infants with RSV bronchiolitis and that surfactant proteins leak into the circulation. The plasma concentrations of surfactant protein-A and surfactant protein-B in infants with RSV bronchiolitis were measured by ELISA. Plasma immunoreactive surfactant protein-B in infants with RSV bronchiolitis was markedly higher than that in matching controls. Our study suggests that alveolocapillary permeability is increased in infants with RSV bronchiolitis in vivo and that surfactant protein-B may be a sensitive marker for lung injury in such infants.
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Abbreviations
- ARDS:
-
acute respiratory distress syndrome
- ELF:
-
epithelial lining fluid
- RSV:
-
respiratory syncytial virus
- SP-A:
-
surfactant protein-A
- SP-B:
-
surfactant protein-B
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the staff in the Departments of Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, and Anesthesia at Flinders Medical Center, for assistance in collecting clinical samples.
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Supported in part by The Channel Seven Children's Research Foundation of South Australia Inc. (grant no. 30, 97/98). Dr. S.Z. Wang was supported by an Australian Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Flinders University Research Scholarship.
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Wang, SZ., Doyle, I., Nicholas, T. et al. Plasma Surfactant Protein-B Is Elevated in Infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Induced Bronchiolitis. Pediatr Res 46, 731 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199912000-00023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199912000-00023
