Regulation of interferon production in the lung during respiratory syncytial virus infection

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All children are infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before age of two and most of the time the infection gives symptoms of a normal cold. However, in 2-3% of infants RSV infection lead to severe disease, called bronchiolitis, and to hospitalisation. Bronchiolitis is inflammation of the lower parts of the lungs, the bronchioles. During RSV infection the immune system has to combat the virus but also make sure that the lungs are not damaged and this appears to fail in the small % of infants who develop bronchiolitis. Therefore, it is important to understand how the immune responses are induced and regulated during RSV infection. This research proposal will focus on how the immune system senses the presence of RSV in the lungs and how this lead to production of early mediators, called interferons, which have been implicated both in resistance to the virus and in prevention of bronchiolitis. The results from this proposal may therefore impact on strategies for finding efficient immune therapies for bronchiolitis or for developing vaccines against RSV.