This study aimed to evaluate IL-17A (interleukin 17A) and IL-17RA (IL-17A receptor) in a pediatric population that died with non-pandemic acute viral pneumonia compared to the non-viral pneumonia group. Necropsy lung samples (n = 193) from children that died after severe acute infection pneumonia were selected and processed for viral antigen detection by immunohistochemistry. After this, they were separated into two groups: virus-positive (n = 68) and virus-negative lung samples (n = 125). Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the presence of IL-17A and IL-17RA in the lung tissue. The virus-positive group showed stronger immunolabeling for IL-17A and IL-17RA (p = 0.020 and p < 0.001, respectively). The result of this study may suggest that IL-17A and IL-17RA plays an essential role in the maintenance of viral infection and lung injuries. These aspects may increase the severity of the inflammatory response leading to lethal lung injuries in these patients. Children with community-acquired non-pandemic pneumonia that requiring hospitalization could benefit from using IL-17RA/IL-17A monoclonal antibodies to block their injurious effects.

本研究旨在评估与非病毒性肺炎组相比死于非大流行性急性病毒性肺炎的儿科人群中的 IL-17A（白介素 17A）和 IL-17RA（IL-17A 受体）。选择并处理严重急性感染性肺炎后死亡儿童的尸检肺样本（n = 193），通过免疫组织化学进行病毒抗原检测。在此之后，他们被分成两组：病毒阳性（n = 68）和病毒阴性肺样本（n = 125）。进行免疫组织化学以评估肺组织中 IL-17A 和 IL-17RA 的存在。病毒阳性组对 IL-17A 和 IL-17RA 表现出更强的免疫标记（分别为 p = 0.020 和 p < 0.001）。这项研究的结果可能表明 IL-17A 和 IL-17RA 在维持病毒感染和肺损伤中起着至关重要的作用。这些方面可能会增加导致这些患者致命肺损伤的炎症反应的严重程度。需要住院治疗的社区获得性非大流行性肺炎儿童可以从使用 IL-17RA/IL-17A 单克隆抗体阻断其有害作用中受益。