Text Box: THE GENE OF RESPIRATORY TRACT VIRUSES IN MONONUCLEAR CELLS OF THE CHILDREN WITH STEROID RESPONSIVE SIMPLE NEPHROTIC SYNDROME Wang Z, Mu L-F Department of Pediatrics, Second Hospital of West China Medical Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China Objective: To investigate the relationship between the infection of respiratory tract viruses and the onset of steroid-responsive simple nephrotic syndrome (SRSNS). Methods: The gene expression and antigens of respiratory tract viruses in the peripheral blood mononulear cells (PBMCs) from 26 children with SRSNS were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and APAAP method, respectively. Meanwhile, the antibodies of respiratory tract viruses of the children with SRSNS were also examined by Elisa test. Results: In comparison with the remission group of SRSNS and the normal controls, the positive rate of the gene expression, antigens and antibodies of the respiratory tract viruses in the relapse group were significantly increased (P<0.05). The percentage of the genes, antigens and antibodies of the respiratory tract viruses were closely correlated with the urinary protein in SRSNS (P<0.05). There was no relationship between the gene expression and antigens of the viruses of PBMCs and the use of prednison in SRSNS, but the positive rates of the antibodies in sera were closely related to the use of prednison. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the onset or relapse of SRSNS is related to the infection of the respiratory tract viruses, and the infection may be one of the important triggers of this disease, but its mechanism needs to be confirmed by further studies. 1101