BUG

RSV infection is linked to bronchiolitis insurgence that, in children younger than 5 years of age, can cause prolonged hospitalizations and death also in Western Countries. The high symptoms variability linked to this disease is only partially explained by known risk factors. Our recent study showed that bronchiolitis hospitalizations strongly correlate with air pollution and, in particular, with PM10 increase. For this reason, we hypostatized that PM10 exposure can be a relevant risk factor modulating viral infection productivity. We thought that nasal microbiota could be the ideal mediator between PM10 and host immune system. For this reason, we would analyze its composition in healthy children and in mild and severe bronchiolitis affected ones. In parallel we plan to analyze host immune response and to correlate these data with PM10 exposure measurements validating with in vitro and in vivo experiments our findings. This will lead to discover the role and the mode of action of all the actors playing a role in bronchiolitis pathogenesis.