Cytokine expression patterns in hospitalized children with Bordetella pertussis, Rhinovirus or co-infection

Pandolfi, Elisabetta; Panera, Nadia; Alisi, Anna; Carloni, Emanuela; Russo, Luisa; Campagna, Ilaria; Rizzo, Caterina; Concato, Carlo; Linardos, Giulia; Piccioni, Livia; Jackson, Sally; Villani, Alberto; Midulla, Fabio; Tozzi, Alberto E.

Mechanisms of interaction between Bordetella pertussis and other viral agents are yet to be fully explored. We studied the inflammatory cytokine expression patterns among children with both viral-bacterial infections. Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples were taken from children, aged < 1 year, positive for Rhinovirus, Bordetella pertussis and for Rhinovirus and Bordetella pertussis. Forty cytokines were evaluated in NPA by using human cytokine protein arrays and a quantitative analysis was performed on significantly altered cytokines. Forty cytokines were evaluated in NPA by using human cytokine protein arrays and a quantitative analysis was performed on significantly altered cytokines. Our results show that co-infections display a different inflammatory pattern compared to single infections, suggesting that a chronic inflammation caused by one of the two pathogens could be the trigger for exacerbation in co-infections.