They found evidence that respiratory syncytial virus or RSV stayed in the lungs of mice and caused the overactive airway symptoms that characterize asthma.

“This research suggests that there’s a potential new mechanism for asthma related to viral infections in children that could be associated with RSV,” pediatrician Dr. Asuncion Mejias who led the study, said.

“These findings could aid in the development of preventive and therapeutic interventions for children with recurrent wheezing due to a virus such as RSV.”

Nearly every child is infected with RSV early in life, and the virus usually clears up without serious complications. But 3 percent to 10 percent of infants with RSV infections develop severe bronchitis and must be treated in the hospital.

For this experiment, the UTSW team infected mice with either live RSV or viruses weakened by ultraviolet light or heat.

After 42 days, the researchers found evidence of the virus in every mouse infected with live RSV, but not in the others.

Mice treated with an antibody — an immune system protein — targeted to RSV ended up with less virus in the lungs and developed significantly less airway hyperreactivity and lung inflammation.

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