The Healthy Infant Nasal Transcriptome: A Benchmark Study

A prospective multi-year clinical translational study including three cohorts of term infants experiencing their first Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) season. All infants are less than or equal to nine months of age at study entry. The three subject cohorts represent the full spectrum of RSV disease severity and include a birth cohort, a cohort of infants hospitalized for RSV disease and infants evaluated at ambulatory settings for RSV infection. All infants are followed longitudinally and evaluated at recognition of acute RSV infection and twice during convalescence. Innate and adaptive immune status are comprehensively measured in association with clinical, environmental, viral, and bacteriologic factors. Genome-wide expression is assessed in the nasal airways, and in sorted peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study goal is to Identify host responses to RSV infection and factors associated with severe disease.