CYTOKINE RESPONSE TO RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS STIMULATION OF HUMANPERIPHERAL-BLOOD MONONUCLEAR-CELLS

A key impediment to developing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vacci nes is a lack of understanding of enhanced disease that occurred in ch ildren who received a formalin-inactivated RSV (FI-RSV) vaccine. Studi es in mice have suggested that the FI-RSV vaccine induces a TH2 and li ve RSV induces a TH1 memory T cell response. In this study, the cytoki ne mRNA response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from adu lts and children with and without previous RSV infection was character ized using a semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PBMC fr om 22 subjects previously infected with RSV usually had RSV-specific i ncreases in TH1 cytokine-specific mRNA (interferon-gamma [IFN-gamma] m RNA, 20; interleukin [IL]-2 mRNA, 12; IL-5 mRNA, 6; and IL-4 mRNA, 0). PBMC from RSV antibody-negative children had no RSV-specific increase s in IFN-gamma, IL-2, or IL-4 mRNA; 1 of 7 had an increase in IL-5 mRN A. These data indicate that naturally acquired RSV induces a TH1 memor y T cell response.