这种病毒感染小气道的呼吸道上皮细胞,导致细胞坏死、炎症、水肿和黏液分泌。细胞损伤和炎症导致小气道阻塞。生理学和临床结果包括肺过度膨胀、肺不张和喘息。严重病例也可以出现间质炎症和肺泡浸润。在感染后大约 2 周内,上皮细胞层不会再生,因为上皮细胞功能完全恢复需要 4 到 8 周的时间。
早期研究显示,RSV感染与典型的2型辅助T细胞(TH2 细胞)分泌的介质有关。[21]Kim CK, Kim SW, Park CS, et al. Bronchoalveolar lavage cytokine profiles in acute asthma and acute bronchiolitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003 Jul;112(1):64-71.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12847481?tool=bestpractice.com[22]Oh JW, Lee HB, Yum MK, et al. ECP level in nasopharyngeal secretions and serum from children with respiratory virus infections and asthmatic children. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2000 Mar-Apr;21(2):97-100.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10791110?tool=bestpractice.com[23]Legg JP, Hussain IR, Warner JA, et al. Type 1 and type 2 cytokine imbalance in acute respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2003 Sep 15;168(6):633-9.http://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200210-1148OChttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12773328?tool=bestpractice.com[24]Lukacs NW, Tekkanat KK, Berlin A, et al. Respiratory syncytial virus predisposes mice to augmented allergic airway responses via IL-13-mediated mechanisms. J Immunol. 2001 Jul 15;167(2):1060-5.http://www.jimmunol.org/content/167/2/1060.fullhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11441116?tool=bestpractice.com 然而,随后的临床研究表明,RSV感染的严重程度和任何呼吸道病毒感染引起喘息的可能性,都可能反映了机体对感染的适应免疫反应能力下降。[25]Welliver TP, Garofalo RP, Hosakote Y, et al. Severe human lower respiratory tract illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus is characterized by the absence of pulmonary cytotoxic lymphocyte responses. J Infect Dis. 2007 Apr 15;195(8):1126-36.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17357048?tool=bestpractice.com[26]Copenhaver CC, Gern JE, Li Z, et al. Cytokine response patterns, exposure to viruses, and respiratory infections in the first year of life. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Jul 15;170(2):175-80.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15087299?tool=bestpractice.com[27]Guerra S, Lohman IC, Halonen M, et al. Reduced interferon gamma production and soluble CD14 levels in early life predict recurrent wheezing by 1 year of age. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Jan 1;169(1):70-6.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14525803?tool=bestpractice.com[28]Jozwik A, Habibi MS, Paras A, et al. RSV-specific airway resident memory CD8+ T cells and differential disease severity after experimental human infection. Nat Commun. 2015 Dec 21;6:10224.http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151221/ncomms10224/full/ncomms10224.htmlhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26687547?tool=bestpractice.com 此外,RSV可能抑制肺脏的抗氧化系统,促进活性氧的产生,导致肺氧化损伤增加。[29]Hosakote YM, Jantzi PD, Esham DL, et al. Viral-mediated inhibition of antioxidant enzymes contributes to the pathogenesis of severe respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Jun 1;183(11):1550-60.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471094?tool=bestpractice.com 鼻病毒等非 RSV 感染引起的哮鸣可能提示哮喘的早期体征,因为这些婴儿以后更可能会出现哮鸣。[10]Jackson DJ, Gangnon RE, Evans MD, et al. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses in early life predict asthma development in high-risk children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2008;178:667-72.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2556448/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18565953?tool=bestpractice.com