Type 1 Immune Responses Related to Viral Infection Influence Corticosteroid Response in Asthma

Abstract Rationale Corticosteroid-responsive type 2 (T2) inflammation underlies the T2-high asthma endotype. However, we hypothesized that type 1 (T1) inflammation, possibly related to viral infection, may also influence corticosteroid response. Objectives To determine the frequency and within-patient variability of T1-high, T2-high, and T1/T2-high asthma endotypes and whether virally influenced T1-high disease influences corticosteroid response in asthma. Methods Patients in SARP-3 (Severe Asthma Research Program-3) had sputum collected at baseline, after intramuscular (triamcinolone acetonide) corticosteroid treatment, and at 1- and 3-year follow-ups. Sputum cell RNA was used for whole-transcriptome gene network and viral metagenomic analyses. We then profiled patients as highly expressing T1 and/or T2 gene networks and established the influence of these endotypes on corticosteroid responsiveness and the likelihood of viral transcript detection in the airways. Measurements and Main Results We found that 22% and 35% of patients with asthma highly expressed T1 and T2 network genes, respectively, and that 8.5% highly expressed both networks. Asthma severity outcomes were worse in T2-high compared with T1-high asthma and most severe in the T1-high/T2-high subgroup. Corticosteroid treatment strongly suppressed T2 but poorly suppressed T1 gene expression, and corticosteroid-associated improvements in FEV1 occurred only in patients with T1-low/T2-high disease and not in patients with T1-high/T2-high disease. Viral metagenomic analyses uncovered that 24% of asthma sputum samples tested positive for a respiratory virus, and high viral carriage was associated with 14-fold increased risk of T1-high disease. Conclusions Airway T1 immune responses are relatively common in asthma, are largely corticosteroid resistant, and are associated with subclinical viral infection.