RATIONALE Human rhinovirus infections cause colds and trigger exacerbations of lower airway diseases. OBJECTIVES To define changes in gene expression profiles during in vivo rhinovirus infections. METHODS Nasal epithelial scrapings were obtained before and during experimental rhinovirus infection, and gene expression was evaluated by microarray. Naturally acquired rhinovirus infections, cul...

β(2) agonists reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caused by respiratory virus infection. β(2) agonists reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, the inhibitory effects of β(2) agonists on the infection of rhinovirus, the major cause of exacerbations, have not been well studied. To examine the effec...

Rhinovirus infections occur frequently throughout life and have been reported in about one-third of asymptomatic cases. The clinical significance of sequential rhinovirus infections remains unclear. To determine the incidence and clinical relevance of sequential rhinovirus detections, nasopharyngeal samples from 2485 adults with acute cough/lower respiratory illness were analysed. Patients were...

BACKGROUND Current molecular diagnostic methods have detected rhinovirus RNA in a high proportion of asymptomatic infants and children, raising the question of the clinical significance of these findings. This study investigates the prevalence of prolonged rhinovirus RNA presence in the upper respiratory tract of infants during the first year of life. METHODS In a longitudinal study, infants ...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND Human rhinoviruses, major precipitants of asthma exacerbations, induce lower airway inflammation and mediate angiogenesis. The purpose of this study was to assess the possibility that rhinoviruses may also contribute to the fibrotic component of airway remodeling. METHODS Levels of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) mRNA and protein were measured following rhinovir...

Rhinovirus infections are the major cause of asthma exacerbations. We hypothesised that IL-15, a cytokine implicated in innate and acquired antiviral immunity, may be deficient in asthma and important in the pathogenesis of asthma exacerbations. We investigated regulation of IL-15 induction by rhinovirus in human macrophages in vitro, IL-15 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and IL-15...

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 antiviral effects; however, the mechanism is unknown. We investigated the anti-rhinoviral potential of macrolides through the induction of antiviral gene mRNA and protein. Primary human bron...

The relative roles of the endosomal TLR3/7/8 versus the intracellular RNA helicases RIG-I and MDA5 in viral infection is much debated. We investigated the roles of each pattern recognition receptor in rhinovirus infection using primary bronchial epithelial cells. TLR3 was constitutively expressed; however, RIG-I and MDA5 were inducible by 8-12 h following rhinovirus infection. Bronchial epithel...

Preschool rhinovirus-induced wheeze is associated with an increased risk of asthma. In adult asthma, exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC) are associated with inflammatory activity. We therefore hypothesised that acute preschool wheeze is accompanied by a differential profile of exhaled VOC, which is maintained after resolution of symptoms in those children with rhinovirus-induced wheeze. We...

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...