Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection in children, leading to their death. Currently, no effective prevention and treatment methods for RSV infection are available. RSV and many other unknown viruses pose a serious threat to human health. Our previous study demonstrated that Mycobacterium vaccae nebulization can protect against allergic asthma. As RSV infection and asthma are closely related, we hypothesized that M. vaccae could protect against pulmonary RSV infection. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of M. vaccae on RSV infection in Balb/c mice. Methods: The mice were randomized into three groups: normal, RSV, and M. vaccae. One week before the RSV infection model was established, the mice in the M. vaccae group were nebulized with M. vaccae. On the fourth day after RSV infection, airway responsiveness, airway inflammation, pulmonary RSV infection, mRNA levels of pulmonary toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 and TLR8, and pulmonary NF09, acetylcholine, and epidermal growth factor regulator (EGFR) expression levels in all mice were measured. Results: The airway inflammation in the M. vaccae group was alleviated compared with that in the RSV group. In the M. vaccae group, the pulmonary mRNA level of RSV and the pulmonary expression levels of NF09, acetylcholine, and EGFR were decreased considerably, whereas the mRNA levels of TLR7 and TLR8 were increased significantly. Conclusions: One-week nebulization of M. vaccae can protect against RSV infection in Balb/c mice. The mechanism involves the regulation of neurotransmitters and expression of TLR7, TLR8, and EGFR.
Keywords: Mycobacterium vaccae; RSV; nebulization; neurotransmitters.