Project Grant R56HL167750

This Project Grant award of $565,834 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (CFDA 93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research), aims to investigate the long-term impact of early-life respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection on the development of childhood asthma. The research will focus on understanding how RSV infection can cause epigenetic modifications in lung epithelial cells that lead to persistent changes in the lung's responsiveness to allergens, potentially increasing the risk of developing asthma later in life. The study will be conducted by the Regents of the University of Michigan and will address three specific aims: 1) defining whether early-life RSV infection generates long-lasting changes in the lung epithelium that contribute to subsequent allergic disease, 2) determining if RSV infection drives epigenetic modifications in lung epithelial cells that result in long-term alterations in lung epithelium responsiveness, and 3) identifying the mechanisms behind the long-term alteration of the lung epithelium, particularly the role of the IL-1/IL-33 feedback loop during RSV infection. This research aims to enhance the understanding of how early-life RSV infection can predispose children to the development of asthma, with the goal of informing the development of interventions to mitigate RSV disease severity and asthma risk.