Peer-reviewed article
The <u>W</u>heezing, <u>A</u>sthma and <u>V</u>iral effects on the <u>E</u>pithelial <u>S</u>tructure and function (WAVES) birth cohort study: rationale, design and methods to understand airway development and the role of early-life respiratory viral infections on childhood asthma inception.
Hartert T, Rosas-Salazar C, Newcomb DC, Snyder BM, Berdnikovs S et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The WAVES study is a birth cohort following 250 mother-child pairs from pregnancy through age 5 to understand how respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infancy affects airway development and the risk of childhood asthma. Researchers will collect nasal samples from birth onwards and use advanced genetic and molecular techniques to track changes in airway cells, gene expression, and chemical processes. The study aims to identify the biological pathways through which early RSV infection contributes to asthma development in children.
Key points
- The airway epithelial barrier develops during the first year of life, a critical window of vulnerability to respiratory viruses
- The cohort includes 200 children at high-risk for asthma and 50 at general-risk for asthma
- Longitudinal nasal sampling from birth through age 5 years will be analysed using multi-omic approaches including RNA-sequencing, metabolomic and epigenetic data
- The study captures the first RSV infection event during infancy as a natural randomisation
- Primary outcomes focus on pathways through which RSV infection intersects with airway epithelial development leading to asthma by age 5
Limitations
This is a study protocol describing design and methods, not results. The document does not provide data on whether the intervention or natural exposure actually prevents or causes asthma, only the framework for investigating these relationships.
Abstract
Introduction The airway epithelial barrier continues to develop during the first year of life, representing a critical time window of susceptibility to the effects of respiratory viruses that may contribute to the development of childhood asthma. This study specifically aimed to assess the impact of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection on the longitudinal development of the airway epithelium, airway metabolism, DNA methylation and subsequent childhood asthma. Methods and analysis The Wheezing, Asthma and Viral effects on the Epithelial Structure and function (WAVES) birth cohort study is a prospective, observational birth cohort that is enrolling mother-child dyads beginning in pregnancy and following children through age 5 years. It is designed as a quasi-natural randomisation of RSV infection in infancy, capturing the first RSV infection event during infancy and longitudinal nasal sampling from birth through age 5 years for multi-omic assays and assessment of clinical outcomes. The WAVES study protocol will enrol 250 pregnant women and their offspring (200 at high-risk for asthma and 50 at general-risk for asthma). The primary outcomes are pathways through which RSV infection intersects with airway epithelial development leading to asthma by age 5 years. We will employ a longitudinal systems biology approach to investigate the development of the airway epithelium following infant RSV infection in those who do and do not develop asthma. This approach will integrate single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing gene expression, metabolomic and epigenetic data at the resolution of epithelial cell subsets. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the Vanderbilt University Medical Center IRB (#222277), and study results will be communicated in peer-reviewed publications and to the study participants and lay community. By analysing these longitudinal multi-omic datasets, we aim to uncover key mechanisms driving airway epithelial development and identify how these processes are altered by early-life RSV infection and contribute to the development of early-life respiratory morbidity and asthma.