Critical role for IL-33 in the onset and progression of experimental asthma induced by concomitant virus infection and allergen exposure

Abstract

Frequent, severe wheezy lower respiratory tract viral infections and allergic sensitisation in early life are independently associated with the onset of asthma, and positively interact to markedly increase asthma risk. We have developed a model to interrogate this synergy by inoculating neonatal BALB/c mice with low dose pneumonia virus of mouse (PVM; 1pfu) then exposure to a submaximal dose of cockroach antigen (CRE, 1μg) 3days post infection (dpi). CRE exposure following viral infection reduced antiviral immunity (IFN-α, IFN-λ, IL-12p40) and increased viral load in the airway epithelium. Moreover, plasmacytoid dendritic cells stimulated in vitro with CRE exhibited impaired antiviral functi..