澳大利亚发现病毒与过敏原诱导的哮喘发病机制并不相同

 
根据一项对急性恶化的哮喘患者的最新研究，澳大利亚研究人员已经发现了一种新途径来鉴别由病毒诱导的哮喘与过敏原导致的哮喘。

在这项研究中，59例急性哮喘的痰细胞学特征与45例对照进行了分析对比。对照组包括14例稳定型哮喘且没有病毒感染，15例没有哮喘但是有病毒感染的患者，16例健康受试者。为了查明感染状态和肺部疾病历史，受试者进行了普通感冒和哮喘问卷调查、微生物学检测、肺功能与过敏原检测。

在46例受试者或者78％例急性哮喘患者中检测出了呼吸道病毒。在儿童与成人患者中，哮喘恶化一般由呼吸道病毒感染所导致的，83％的病例感染鼻病毒。研究人员发现，白介素10主要抑制免疫应答，与对照组相比较，病毒性感染的急性哮喘中白介素10病毒显著升高。因此，气道细胞表达的白介素10成为成为病毒感染特征。与那些由于过敏原导致的哮喘相比较，病毒诱导的哮喘发病机制并不相同。

这项研究是由澳大利亚John Hunter医院的研究人员进行的，发表在2005年8月15日期的《美国呼吸道与重症监护医学》之上。

Detecting Virus-Induced Asthma
 
Australian researchers have discovered a new way to distinguish virus-induced asthma from that caused by allergens, according to a new study of asthma patients who were experiencing acute exacerbation.

In the study, the sputum cellular profiles of 59 acute asthmatics were compared with those of 45 controls. The controls group included 14 patients with stable asthma and no viral infection, 15 subjects without asthma but with a viral infection, and 16 healthy subjects. To establish infection status and pulmonary history, participants completed common cold and asthma questionnaires, microbiologic tests, and lung function and allergy tests.

A respiratory virus was detected in 46 subjects, or 78%, of those with acute asthma. In both children and adults, the asthma exacerbations were caused by viral respiratory infections, with 83% of cases infected with rhinovirus. The researchers found that expression of interleuken 10 (IL-10), which functions to suppress immune responses, was significantly increased in acute asthma patients with viral infections, when compared to control groups. Consequently, IL-10 expression from airway cells appears to be a feature of virus-induced acute asthma. Different mechanisms were found to be at work in virus-induced asthma patients, compared to those described in allergen-induced asthma.

The study, conducted by researchers at the John Hunter Hospital in New Lambton (Australia), appeared in the August 15, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.