Abstract
Respiratory viral infections have been associated with airway obstruction and hyperresponsiveness, and exacerbations of asthma. Although virus-induced asthma is thought to be precipitated by airway inflammation, the clinical efficacy and rationale for using antiinflammatory treatment during such exacerbations remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to use a well characterized animal model of respiratory viral illness to test the hypothesis that the inflammatory response to viral infection is responsible for the development of airway dysfunction. Adult rats were inoculated with either Sendai virus or sterile vehicle and treated with daily injections of dexamethasone or saline. At postinoculation d 4, 5, or 6, rats were evaluated for airway obstruction, hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and lung viral titers. Saline-treated infected rats had significant airway obstruction(increased resistance, decreased dynamic compliance), hyperresponsiveness(i.v. methacholine), and inflammation (increased bronchoalveolar lavage leukocytes) compared with noninfected controls. In contrast, dexamethasone-treated infected rats had no increase in bronchoalveolar lavage leukocytes and significantly smaller changes in airway physiology, but had increased lung viral titers compared with saline-treated infected rats. We conclude that glucocorticoid suppression of the inflammatory response to respiratory viral infection largely prevents virus-associated airway dysfunction.
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Abbreviations
- Rrs:
-
respiratory system resistance
- Cdyn:
-
dynamic respiratory system compliance
- PD20:
-
log dose (nmol/kg) i.v. methacholine required to increase resistance by 20 Pa mL-1 s
- BAL:
-
bronchoalveolar lavage
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Pulmonary Function Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics for blood gas measurements.
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Supported by National Institutes of Health Grants AI-34891 and AI-00995. H.M. was a recipient of an Allen & Hanburys Respiratory Institute Allergy Fellowship Award.
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Mehta, H., Sorkness, R., Kaplan, M. et al. Effects of Dexamethasone on Acute Virus-Induced Airway Dysfunction in Adult Rats. Pediatr Res 41, 872–877 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199706000-00012
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199706000-00012
