Respiratory syncytial virus infection increases regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 levels in serum of patients with asthma and in human monocyte cultures.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is associated to episodic exacerbations of asthma involving alveolar macrophages and chemokine production.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the circulating levels of monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and substance P (SP) in patients with and without asthma with acute respiratory RSV infection and the chemokine profile in RSV- infected monocyte cultures from normal individuals and individuals with asthma.

Methods: In this regard, 31 adult patients with acute respiratory infection (15 patients with asthma) were studied. MCP-1, RANTES and SP were measured in serum and in supernatants from monocyte cultures by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: Increased levels of MCP-1 and RANTES were observed in serum from patients with asthma related to RSV infection. RSV-infected monocyte cultures from healthy individuals showed increased content of those chemokines, and monocyte cultures from patients with asthma showed increased expression of MCP-1.

Conclusion: These data show that RSV infection induces increased circulating level of chemokines in patients with asthma, and this finding could be mediated in part by the interaction virus-monocyte.