Pollen exposure weakens innate defense against respiratory viruses
Gilles, Stefanie; Blume, Cornelia; Wimmer, Maria; Damialis, Athanasios; Meulenbroek, Laura; Gökkaya, Mehmet; Bergougnan, Carolin; Eisenbart, Selina; Sundell, Nicklas; Lindh, Magnus; Andersson, Lars-Magnus; Dahl, Åslög; Chaker, Adam; Kolek, Franziska; Wagner, Sabrina; Neumann, Avidan U; Akdis, Cezmi A; Garssen, Johan; Westin, Johan; Van't Land, Belinda; Davies, Donna E; Traidl-Hoffmann, Claudia
(2020) Allergy, volume 75, issue 3, pp. 576 - 587
(Article)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hundreds of plant species release their pollen into the air every year during early spring. During that period, pollen allergic as well as non-allergic patients frequently present to doctors with severe respiratory tract infections. Our objective was therefore to assess whether pollen may interfere with antiviral immunity. METHODS: We
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combined data from real-life human exposure cohorts, a mouse model and human cell culture to test our hypothesis. RESULTS: Pollen significantly diminished interferon-λ and pro-inflammatory chemokine responses of airway epithelia to rhinovirus and viral mimics and decreased nuclear translocation of interferon regulatory factors. In mice infected with respiratory syncytial virus, co-exposure to pollen caused attenuated antiviral gene expression and increased pulmonary viral titers. In non-allergic human volunteers, nasal symptoms were positively correlated with airborne birch pollen abundance, and nasal birch pollen challenge led to downregulation of type I and -III interferons in nasal mucosa. In a large patient cohort, numbers of rhinoviruspositive cases were correlated with airborne birch pollen concentrations. CONCLUSION: The ability of pollen to suppress innate antiviral immunity, independent of allergy, suggests that high-risk population groups should avoid extensive outdoor activities when pollen and respiratory virus seasons coincide.
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Keywords: antiviral response, lambda-interferones, nasal symptoms, nonallergenic pollen compounds, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, Taverne
ISSN: 0105-4538
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Note: © 2019 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
(Peer reviewed)
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