Published ahead of print on April 15, 2004, doi:10.1164/rccm.200312-1647OC
© 2004 American Thoracic Society
Cytokine Response Patterns, Exposure to Viruses, and Respiratory Infections in the First Year of LifeDepartments of Pediatrics, Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, and Medicine, University of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, Wisconsin Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Christopher C. Copenhaver, M.D., K4/910 University of Wisconsin Hospital, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792-9988. Email: cc.copenhaver{at}hosp.wisc.edu
Daycare attendance and siblings are associated with viral-induced wheezing in children. Preexisting immunologic factors may influence the expression of viral infections in infancy, and in turn, recurrent infections may influence the development of immune responses. A total of 285 children were enrolled in the Childhood Origins of Asthma Project at birth and followed for at least 1 year. Cord blood and 1-year mononuclear cells were stimulated with phytohemagglutinin, and cytokine-response profiles were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nasal lavage was performed for moderate to severe respiratory illnesses. Daycare attendance and/or siblings significantly increased the likelihood of contracting respiratory syncytial virus (1.51.6-fold increase) and rhinovirus (1.82.1-fold increase), and increased the risk of rhinovirus-induced wheezing (1418% vs. 2%, p = 0.011). Cord blood IFN- responses were inversely related to the frequency of viral respiratory infections (rs = 0.11, p = 0.05), and more significant for subjects with high exposure to other children (rs = 0.27, p = 0.028). The interval change in infantile IFN- responses correlated positively with the frequency of viral infections in infancy (rs = 0.12, p = 0.047). These data suggest that neonatal IFN- responses may influence antiviral activity, or may represent a marker of antiviral immunity maturation. Conversely, the frequency of viral infections in infancy can influence IFN- responses.
Key Words: interferon- Viral respiratory illnesses, many of which are contracted through contact with siblings or attendance at daycare, are the most common triggers for wheezing and asthma exacerbations among young children. In both the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study (1, 2) and the Italian Studies of Respiratory Disorders in Childhood and the Environment project (3), daycare attendance was shown to be a risk factor for viral infections and viral-associated wheezing in the first 2 years of life, but protective against viral infections and asthma later in life. Celedon and colleagues found that daycare attendance during the first year of life was associated with lower rates of asthma at 6 years of age, but only among children without a maternal history of asthma (4). Similarly, children with older siblings in the home are more likely to experience viral illnesses and wheezing in the first 2 years of life, but have decreased rates of wheezing, and decreased rates of atopic sensitization later in childhood (2, 3, 5, 6). Despite the convincing evidence linking exposure to other children with rates of respiratory illnesses and wheezing, the effects of increased exposure on specific viral infections have not been ascertained. While exposure is an important determinant of lower respiratory tract illnesses, it does not explain why some children entering daycare experience a dramatic increase in viral infections, while others are relatively healthy. In addition, recent genetic studies suggest that clinical outcomes of viral infections in infancy might also be influenced by polymorphisms in cytokine genes (79). These observations suggest the hypotheses that variations and/or subtle defects in the antiviral immune response also affect the clinical expression of viral respiratory infections. Furthermore, stressing the immune system with increased viral exposure may uncover relatively minor immune defects that are not apparent in children with less exposure to viruses. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a prospective birth cohort study to evaluate interactions between exposure to other children, the development patterns of cytokine responses in peripheral blood cells, and the etiology and severity of respiratory viral infections during the first year of life. Other study results pertinent to this cohort have been previously published as both original articles and abstracts (1013).
Study Subjects After obtaining informed consent, 289 subjects were enrolled in the Childhood Origins of Asthma Study (14) at birth and 285 were followed prospectively for at least 1 year. Details of study design have been described previously (1214). This study was approved by the University of Wisconsin Human Subjects Committee.
Wheezing Respiratory Illnesses and Daycare
Collection of Blood Samples
Mononuclear Cell Stimulation
Cytokine ELISA
Nasal Lavage Samples
Viral Diagnostics Nasal samples were cultured for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus types A and B, parainfluenza virus types 14, rhinovirus (RV), enteroviruses, and adenoviruses, as described previously (15). RV-RNA was detected by a seminested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, as described by Ireland and colleagues (16) with modifications (15). At 1 year of age, an ELISA was performed on serum to detect anti-RSV IgG (see online supplement). RSV fusion protein was generously provided by Dr Gerald Hancock (Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines, Henrietta, NY). RSV infections were diagnosed on the basis of positive serology at age 1 year, or virus detection in nasal secretions. When multiple viruses were recovered, the sample counted as a positive for each virus.
Measurement of Blood Eosinophils and IgE
Statistical Analysis Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare changes in cytokine responses in cord blood taken during the first year of life. A nominal p value of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Influence of Daycare Attendance and/or Older Siblings on Laboratory-documented Viral Infections Overall, 556 nasal lavage samples were obtained during a respiratory illness with a symptom score of 5 or higher: viruses were detected in 408 (73%) samples, and 34 of these samples were positive for more than 1 virus. Fifty-three samples were culture positive for RV; and of the 503 samples that were culture-negative for RV, 208 were RV-RNApositive. We next evaluated the separate and combined effects of daycare attendance, and the presence of at least one older sibling in the home on the risk of developing a moderate to severe viral respiratory infection during the first year of life. Of the 285 children in the study, 66 attended daycare only, 90 had an older sibling only, and 66 had both types of exposure. Children who either attended daycare or had an older sibling had an overall significantly increased rate of developing respiratory viral infections during the first year of life (Table 2) . When evaluating relationships with specific infections, there was a significantly increased rate of both RV (1.82.1-fold) and RSV (1.51.6-fold) infections for children who either attended daycare only or had a sibling only. The rate of infection with viruses other than RV or RSV was significantly increased only among children with both types of exposure.
A total of 112 children had more than one moderate-to-severe infection (symptom score 5) during the first year as identified by culture or polymerization chain reaction. The percentage of children with multiple infections increased according to the degree of exposure to other children: daycare only, 44% (p = 0.005); sibling only, 41% (p = 0.008); both exposures, 50% (p < 0.001); and neither exposure, 21%. Among the 112 children with recurrent infections, 2 had recurrent RSV, 65 had recurrent RV, and 13 had recurrent infections with a virus other than RSV or RV. For the remaining 32 children, different viruses were isolated on different occasions.
Influence of Daycare Attendance and/or Older Siblings on Virus-associated Wheezing
Cord Blood Cytokine Responses and Symptomatic Viral Infections Most samples of PHA-stimulated cord blood cells secreted measurable amounts of both IFN- and IL-10 (median values 56 and 99 pg/ml, respectively), as previously reported (13). Neither cytokine was detected in control samples (cord blood cells incubated with medium alone).
There was an inverse correlation between cord blood PHA-induced IFN-
Virus Detection at Scheduled Well-Child Visits As the previous analysis indicated that viral infections were diagnosed on the basis of symptom scores, the relationship between cord blood IFN- production and the number of infections could have been due to associations with either the number or the severity of infections. To differentiate between these two possibilities, we compared the rates of viral detection from nasal washes obtained at scheduled well-child visits, regardless of whether symptoms were present, to cytokine secretion profiles. Of the possible 1,425 well-child visits scheduled at 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age, 1,098 samples were obtained. For 42 of these samples children had a respiratory symptom score 5 or higher, 180 had scores of 14, and 876 had scores of 0 (no respiratory symptoms). Of symptomatic children, viruses were detected in 115 of 180 (64%) samples from those with a score of 14, and viruses were detected in 31 of 42 (74%) samples from those with a score of 5 or higher. In asymptomatic children (scores of 0), viruses were cultured from 87 of 876 (10%) samples. Polymerase chain reaction analysis for detection of RV was not routinely performed on samples from asymptomatic infants; however, analysis of a subset of 96 randomly selected samples indicated that approximately 26% of these infants had detectable RV. There were no significant relationships between the cytokine response profiles at birth and the frequency of virus detection at scheduled visits.
Association between Viral Infections and Developmental Changes in Immune Responses
Influence of Daycare Attendance and/or Older Siblings on Developmental Change and 1-Year Cytokine Responses There were no significant relationships between viral exposure by means of daycare and/or older siblings and age 1 year cytokine responses, developmental changes of cytokine responses (PHA-induced IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IFN- ), peripheral eosinophil count, or total IgE.
Infancy is a time of rapid immunologic development, and theoretically, the development of innate and adaptive immune responses could influence the clinical expression of respiratory viral infections, or conversely, be influenced by recurrent infections. In this study, we were able to test these hypotheses by prospectively evaluating cytokine responses and exposure to other children, and relating these factors to the number and severity of respiratory infections with specific viral pathogens. We were able to quantify the magnitude of the effects of exposure to other children on the number of children who had symptomatic infections with RV (1.82.1-fold increase) and RSV infections (1.51.6-fold increase). In addition, the correlation between exposure and viral-associated wheezing varied with specific pathogen. While the rate of RV-associated wheezing was greatly increased by exposure to daycare and/or siblings, there was relatively little effect on RSV-associated wheezing. Furthermore, we have found an association between cytokine responses at birth and infections in the first year of life, inversely relating IFN- responses to the number of symptomatic respiratory viral infections. Finally, in accordance with the hygiene hypothesis, there was a small but measurable effect of frequent infections being associated with a smaller decline of IFN- responses (13) during the first year of life. The rate of viral-associated wheezing among our cohort during the first year of life (25%) is similar to findings published by the Tuscon Children's Respiratory Study, in which 21% of children experienced at least one wheezing-lower respiratory tract infection during a similar time period (17). Among our cohort, children who attended daycare and had a sibling were more likely to contract an RV infection. Furthermore, for a yet undefined reason, children who contract an RV infection from either daycare or a sibling are more likely to wheeze. This is in contrast to the relatively consistent rate of RSV-associated wheezing among all exposure categories. It is possible that children who contract RV from a sibling or daycare receive a larger inoculum, either due to poor hygiene practices or exposure to multiple-infected children, and the net result is a more virulent illness. An alternative possibility is that recurrent infections caused by close contact with other children may, in a stepwise fashion, promote airway changes, such as goblet cell hyperplasia and increased responsiveness that predispose to wheezing.
We found a weak but statistically significant inverse relationship between IFN-
Guerra and colleagues in the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study recently reported that infants with reduced mitogen-induced IFN-
The relationship between IFN-
Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated a link between frequent infections in infancy and reduced allergies and asthma later in childhood (23, 24), and it has been suggested that this may be due to stimulation of T helper cell type 1 immune responses. In support of this hypothesis, we found a positive relationship between the number of symptomatic infections and changes in IFN-
The major outcome measure of the Childhood Origins of Asthma Study is to determine the relationship between cytokine dysregulation, viral infections, and the initiation of childhood asthma. The foundation for this study was based on work performed in a rodent model of asthma inception (2528). In this model, infection with a paramyxovirus in an atopic strain of rats at a critical time period during their development (susceptible as weanlings, but not as adults) induces an asthma phenotype that in many ways parallels human asthma both histologically and physiologically. In relationship to the current findings, the development of the asthma phenotype appears to involve, at least in part, a dysregulation of natural killer cell IFN-
In summary, these findings help to clarify relationships among exposure to viruses, specific viral illnesses, wheezing, and cytokine responses in infancy. In particular, the demonstration that viral-stimulated IFN-
The authors thank the following health care professionals for their support and cooperation: Gail Allen, Conrad Andringa, Candye Andrus, Richard Anstett, Maribeth Baker, Robert Baker, Adam Balin, Ann Behrmann, Patricia Bellissimo, Arnold Benardette, George Benton, Tom Best, Gregory Bills, John Bohn, Connie Brandt, Don Breckbill, Don Buckstein, Rebecca Bull, Renee Burk, Deirdre Burns, Robert Cape, Colleen Calvy, Michael Cardwell, Susan Carson, Cally Christiansen, R. Christmann, Timothy Chybowski, Marcus Cohen, Robert Cole, Alison Craig, Alison Dahlrymple, James Davis, Nancy Deaton, Patricia Deffner-Valley, Jean Demopolous, Gregory DeMuri, Kathleen DeSantes, Sherri DeVries, Klaus Diem, Karla Dickmeyer, Sabine Droste, Bruce Drummond, Paul Dvorak, Rebecca Eckland, M. Bruce Edmonson, Anne Eglash, Susan Ehrlich, Lawrence Elfman, Marguerite Elliott, Richard Ellis, Dolores Emspak, Sue Engelbaugh, Aida Evans, Gordon Faulkner, Christopher Federman, Ellen Flannery, Joseph Fok, Nadine French, Carolyn Fruehling, Ann Ganch, Claire Gervais, Michelle Gigot, Jenny Hackforth-Jones, Nancy Hagan, David Hann, Mark Hansen, Thomas Hartjes, Jean Haughwout, William Heifner, Russell Hermus, Russell Hess, Karen Hillery, Sherry Holtzmann, Barbara Hostetler, Catherine James, Brenda Jenkin, Sandy Kamnetz, Peter Karofsky, Jennifer Kaufman, Helen Kay, Holly Keevil, Jeffrey Keil, Catherine Kelley, Jeanine Kies, Steve Kincaid, Gretchen Kind, Kristen Knoepke, J. Brendt Kooistra, Paul Kornaus, Steven Koslov, Jeff Krawcek, Dean Kresge, Ann Krigbaum, Robert Kriz, Karen Kronman, Gordon Kronquist, Randy Krszjzaniek, Greg Landry, Mary Landry, Martha Lauster, Karen Lentfer, Joanne Leovy, Stephen Lo, David Lonsdorf, Allan Luskin, Francois Luyet, Joseph Mahoney, Dimitria Manesis, Daniel Marley, Edward McCabe, Gwen McIntosh, Anne Means, Thomas Meier, Frederic Melius, Theresa Mendoza, J. Michael, Eileen Michaels, Bernard Micke, Kaye Mickelson, James Milford, Angie Miller, Julie Mokhtar, Jonathan Morey, Vickie Mulkerin, Maureen Murphy-Greenwood, Thomas Murwin, Eric Nagle, Elizabeth Neary, Paul Neary, James Nettum, Susan Nondahl, Carolyn Ogland, David Okada, Mark Olinger, Reid Olson, Kathleen Oriel, Sandra Osborn, John Ouellette, Meg Parker, Daniel Paulson, Karen Pletta, Amy Plumb, Beth Potter, Peter Pryde, William Ranum, Richard Rice, David Ringdahl, Michael Ritter, Richard Roberts, Everett Roley, Meriel Ronstadt, Karl Rudat, Sherwin Rudman, Jerry Ryan, Julie Saxton, William Scheibel, Ben Schmidt, Rosemarie Schumacher, Julie Schurr, Gerald Shay, Debra Shenoi, James Shropshire, Charles Shutt, Elma Sia, Linda Siewart, Theresa Sizer, Susan Skochelak, Jeffrey Sleeth, Greg Smith, Sheryl Spitzer-Resnick, Patricia Staats, Jennifer Stevens, Katherine Stewart, Mary Stoffel, Joanne Taylor, Jonathan Temte, Stephen Thomas, Mark Timmerman, Ordean Torstenson, Mary-Anne Urtes, Thomas Varley, Eleanor Vita, Lisa Wacholz, David Weber, Bonny Whalen, Margaret Wilcots, Gary Williams, W. Michael Wilson, Robin Wright, Michael Yaffe and Kok-Peng Yu. The support and participation of the following hospitals and clinics has been key to the success of the project: the obstetrical nursing staff at Meriter Hospital, St. Mary's Medical Center, Fort Atkinson Memorial Health Services, Inc., St. Clare Hospital, Reedsburg Area Medical Center, Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital, as well as the clinic staff of Physicians Plus, Associated Physicians, Dean Medical Center, Group Health Cooperative, and other clinics in southwestern Wisconsin seeing individual Childhood Origins of Asthma Study families.
Supported by National Institutes of Health grants 1R01HL6187901 and 1P01HL7083101. This article has an online data supplement, which is accessible from this issue's table of contents online at www.atsjournals.org Conflict of Interest Statement: C.C.C. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; J.E.G. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; Z.L. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; P.A.S. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; L.A.R. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; L.D.M. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; C.J.K. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; K.A.R. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; E.L.A. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; C.J.T. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; D.F.D. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; H.J.H. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; K.G. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; R.E.G. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article; R.F.L. does not have a financial relationship with a commercial entity that has an interest in the subject of this article. Received in original form December 3, 2003; accepted in final form April 11, 2004
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||