PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nenna, Raffaella AU - Nicolai, Ambra AU - Frassanito, Antonella AU - Cangiano, Giulia AU - Schiavariello, Concetta AU - Grande, Marianna Eleonora AU - Ferrara, Marianna AU - Scagnolari, Carolina AU - Pierangeli, Alessandra AU - Moretti, Corrado AU - Midulla, Fabio TI - RSV-RNA load in infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis and recurrent wheezing at 36 months follow-up AID - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2015.PA3629 DP - 2015 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - PA3629 VI - 46 IP - suppl 59 4099 - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/46/suppl_59/PA3629.short 4100 - https://publications.ersnet.org//content/46/suppl_59/PA3629.full SO - Eur Respir J2015 Sep 01; 46 AB - Introduction: Around 40% of infants with bronchiolitis will present recurrent wheezing in the first years of life. It is still unclear whether the virus directly modifies the host immune response or it infects infants somehow prone to wheeze.Aim: To evaluate whether Respiratory Syncytial Virus(RSV)-RNA load and IFN lambda 1-3 expression correlate with wheezing 36 months after bronchiolitis.Methods: We reviewed 68 (43 males, age range: 7-277 days) infants hospitalised for RSV bronchiolitis at the Paediatric Emergency Department, “Sapienza” University of Rome. Nasopharyngeal washing was collected from each infant, and divided into two aliquots (one for nucleic acid extraction and viral detection, the second for gene expression analysis). A TaqMan-based real-time PCR technique for RSV RNA quantification was performed. The mRNA copy content of IFN lambda 1, and 2/3 was measured by a real-time 5' exonuclease RT-PCR assay using the Light Cycler 480 sequence detector.12-24-36 months after discharge, one of the authors interviewed parents of all infants using a standardized telephone procedure with a structured questionnaire seeking information on recurrent wheezing.Results: 29/68 (42.6%) infants with bronchiolitis experienced recurrent wheezing at 36 months follow-up. Children with recurrent wheezing after bronchiolitis showed a significantly higher RSV-RNA load(p=0.015) and higher IFN lambda 2/3 levels than wheezing negative patients(p=0.047).Conclusions: A high RSV-RNA load and IFN lambda activation at the admission for bronchiolitis are associated with recurrent wheezing after 36 months. We could speculate that this viral-related inflammation might cause bronchial lumen modifications.