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Serum Mannose-Binding Lectin Levels are Linked with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Disease

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Abstract

The innate immune response facilitates the quality of the adaptive immune response and is critical to an individual’s susceptibility to infection and disease. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a plasma protein with anti-microbial properties that binds a wide range of pathogens to flag them for immune destruction independent of antibodies. In this study, serum MBL levels were measured in 81 children <5 years old experiencing acute respiratory syncytial virus infection and in 40 control children to determine the association with disease severity. Almost 70% of all RSV-infected children had low to intermediate MBL levels (<500 ng/ml) compared to controls, and most of the <6 months old RSV interned patients had low to intermediate levels. No differences were detected in MBL levels between case and control children <1 month old. Analysis of the T-cell compartment in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from acute RSV-infected and control children showed that the percent CD4+ T cells was statistically lower in RSV-infected children ≥6 months old compared to controls, while the percent CD8+ T cells in RSV-infected and control PBMC was generally similar. These results suggest that low serum MBL levels may be a marker of RSV disease severity in children and that MBL may be important in limiting RSV disease pathogenesis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Dean D. Erdman, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, for providing some reagents; Fabiana R. Morais from Centro Regional de Hemoterapia, USP for her technical support; Ariadne Brito for collecting part of the control samples; the laboratories of Immunology, Molecular Biology, Parasitology, Physiology and Genetics, UFU and Centro Regional de Hemoterapia, USP, for their equipments; and the health care professionals of the Hospital de Clínicas for their important contribution.

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Correspondence to Divina Aparecida Oliveira Queiróz.

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Ribeiro, L.Z.G., Tripp, R.A., Rossi, L.M.G. et al. Serum Mannose-Binding Lectin Levels are Linked with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Disease. J Clin Immunol 28, 166–173 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10875-007-9141-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10875-007-9141-8

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