BACKGROUND Rhinovirus, the most common cause of upper respiratory tract infections, has been implicated in asthma exacerbations and possibly asthma deaths. Although the method of transmission of rhinoviruses is disputed, several studies have demonstrated that aerosol transmission is a likely method of transmission among adults. As a first step in studies of possible airborne rhinovirus transmis...

Rhinovirus detection in symptomatic and asymptomatic children: value of host transcriptome analysis Authors: Heinonen S, Jartti T, Garcia C, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2015; [In press DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201504-0749OC] Summary: The “transcriptome” represents the set of RNA expressed by genes in one cell or a population of cells. Transcriptome analysis could facilitate our understanding of h...

BACKGROUND Rhinovirus infections cause exacerbations of asthma. We postulated that people with asthma are more susceptible to rhinovirus infection than people without the disease and compared the susceptibility of these groups. METHODS We recruited 76 cohabiting couples. One person in every couple had atopic asthma and one was healthy. Participants completed daily diary cards of upper-respira...

Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of human respiratory infections, and quantitative rhinovirus diagnostic tools are needed for clinical investigations. Although results obtained by real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assays are frequently converted to viral RNA loads, this presents several limitations regarding accurate virus RNA quantification, particularly given the need to re...

The majority of asthma exacerbations are caused by rhinovirus. Currently the treatment of asthma exacerbations is inadequate. Previous evidence suggests that macrolide antibiotics have anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects however the mechanism is unknown. We investigated the anti-rhinoviral potential of macrolides through the induction of anti-viral gene mRNA and protein. Primary human bron...

We used in situ hybridization for the detection of rhinovirus in maxillary sinus biopsy specimens obtained from 14 adult patients with acute sinusitis. In 7 specimens, rhinovirus RNA could be demonstrated in the maxillary sinus epithelium, thereby confirming the etiology of rhinovirus and the clinical suspicion of acute sinusitis.

Rhinovirus infection is associated with the majority of asthma exacerbations. The role of fractalkine in anti-viral (type 1) and pathogenic (type 2) responses to rhinovirus infection in allergic asthma is unknown. To determine whether (1) fractalkine is produced in airway cells and in peripheral blood leucocytes, (2) rhinovirus infection increases production of fractalkine and (3) levels of fra...

Common colds are associated with exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the role of the common cold virus (human rhinovirus) in the production of symptoms and lower airway inflammation at COPD exacerbation is unknown. Thirty three patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were seen at baseline, when the number of chest infections in the previous year was noted, and ...

Rhinoviruses cause the majority of common colds, which often provoke wheezing in patients with asthma. The precise mechanisms responsible for the rhinovirus infection-induced exacerbations of bronchial asthma remain uncertain. However, several reports have demonstrated airway hyperresponsiveness, increases in chemical mediators in airway secretions, such as kinin and histamine, and airway infla...

Human rhinovirus is a key viral trigger for asthma exacerbations. To date, murine studies investigating rhinovirus-induced exacerbation of allergic airways disease have employed systemic sensitisation/intranasal challenge with ovalbumin. In this study, we combined human-rhinovirus infection with a clinically relevant mouse model of aero-allergen exposure using house-dust-mite in an attempt to m...