文章作者解释道，以前的研究显示抗氧化治疗可以减轻流感动物模型的肺损伤，改善其存活率。但尚不清楚RSV感染是否导致显著的肺部氧化应激损害，以及抗氧化剂是否可以改变RSV引起的肺病。
德克萨斯大学医学部的Antonella Casola博士和他的同事们在一个小鼠模型上研究了抗氧化剂对RSV引起的肺部炎症、临床疾病和气道高反应性的影响。结果表明，抗氧化剂治疗可以减轻RSV导致的体重下降，改善病毒诱导的疾病评分，不论乙酰甲胆碱的剂量如何都可减轻RSV诱导的气道高反应性。抗氧化治疗还可显著减少RSV引起的炎症细胞进入肺组织。
作者报道，RSV感染使肺内氧化应激标志物显著增高。经抗氧化剂治疗的动物，其肺部氧化应激标志物与对照组水平相当，抗氧化治疗可持续降低炎症趋化因子和细胞因子水平。
研究者认为，“尽管抗氧化剂对RSV感染的保护作用的确切机制难以阐明，但减轻炎症很可能发挥了关键作用。抗氧化剂可减轻RSV感染的症状和病理变化，下一步就可进行抗氧化剂治疗病毒性肺病的研究。”
Antioxidants Ameliorate Acute Lung Inflammation Induced by Respiratory Syncytial Virus
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Dec 29 - Treatment with antioxidants ameliorates lung inflammation induced by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to a report in the December 15th American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Previous research has shown that antioxidant treatment reduces lung injury and improves survival in an animal model of influenza, the authors explain, but it is not known whether RSV infection induces significant lung oxidative stress damage and whether antioxidants modify RSV-induced lung disease.
Dr. Antonella Casola from University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, and colleagues investigated the effect of antioxidant administration on RSV-induced lung inflammation, clinical disease, and airway hyperreactivity in a mouse model.
RSV infection induced significant increases in markers of oxidative stress in the lung, the authors report.
Treatment with antioxidant attenuated RSV-induced body weight loss, improved virus-induced illness scores, and attenuated RSV-induced airway hyperreactivity at all methacholine doses, the results indicate.
Antioxidant treatment also significantly reduced RSV-induced influx of inflammatory cells into lung tissues, the researchers note.
Animals treated with antioxidant had markers of lung oxidative stress equivalent to control levels, the report indicates, and treatment consistently reduced levels of inflammatory chemokines and cytokines.
"Although it is difficult to determine the precise mechanisms by which antioxidants provided protection in the context of RSV infection, attenuation of inflammation is likely a key one," the investigators say.
"The ability of antioxidants to attenuate symptoms and pathology in RSV infection warrants further investigation of these agents as a novel therapeutic approach to virally induced pulmonary disease," the authors conclude.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006;174:1361-1369.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/550064
编辑：蓝色幻想
