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Gilles, S. ; Blume, C.* ; Wimmer, M. ; Damialis, A. ; Meulenbroek, L.* ; Gökkaya, M. ; Bergougnan, C. ; Eisenbart, S. ; Sundell, N.* ; Lindh, M.* ; Andersson, L.M.* ; Dahl, A.* ; Chaker, A.* ; Häring, F. ; Wagner, S. ; Neumann, A.U. ; Akdis, C.A.* ; Garssen, J.* ; Westin, J.* ; Vanˊt Land, B.* ; Davies, D.E.* ; Traidl-Hoffmann, C.

Pollen exposure weakens innate defense against respiratory viruses.

Allergy 75, 576–587 (2020)
Publ. Version/Full Text Postprint Research data DOI PMC
Open Access Green
BackgroundHundreds 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.MethodsWe combined data from real-life human exposure cohorts, a mouse model and human cell culture to test our hypothesis.ResultsPollen significantly diminished interferon-lambda 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.ConclusionThe 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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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Antiviral Response ; Lambda-interferones ; Nasal Symptoms ; Nonallergenic Pollen Compounds ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus ; Rhinovirus; Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin; Immune-responses; Epithelial-cells; Induced Asthma; Rhinovirus Infections; Interferon; Deficient; Roles; Expression; Resistant
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0105-4538
e-ISSN 1398-9995
Journal Allergy
Quellenangaben Volume: 75, Issue: , Pages: 576–587 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Wiley
Publishing Place 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, Nj Usa
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Environmental Medicine (IEM)
Institute for Allergy Research (IAF)