Rhinoviruses

Abstract

Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections cause 70% of virus‐related wheezing exacerbations and cold and flu‐like disease. They are associated with otitis media, sinusitis and pneumonia. Annually, the health and socioeconomic impact of HRV infections costs billions of dollars. Since 1987, 100 officially recognised HRV serotypes have resided in two genetically distinct species, HRV‐A and HRV‐B. Their genome sequences were deduced in 2009. Recently a new species, HRV‐C was recognised, containing 60 genotypes, of which only two have been isolated in primary tissue. Little is known about HRV‐Cs. The HRVs reside within the genus Enterovirus , family Picornaviridae . What drives the development and maintenance of so many distinct viruses is unknown. What role recombination plays in generating this diversity and whether there are species‐specific circulation patterns and clinical outcomes remains unclear. In short, much remains uncertain about the HRVs but the current key features and clinical outcomes from HRV infection are presented. Key Concepts: The nonenveloped HRVs have a small RNA genome of approximately 7000 base pairs. A third, new species of HRV, HRV‐C was described in 2007; all species reside within the genus Enterovirus , family Picornaviridae. HRV prevalence peaks twice per year. HRVs cause cold and flu‐like symptoms and trigger asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. HRVs are associated with diseases such as otitis media, sinusitis and pneumonia. HRV infections are associated with considerable direct and indirect healthcare expenditure annually.

Cyclic stretch augments human rhinovirus induced inflammatory responses in airway epithelial cells

“…Mechanical stretch acts as a mechanism of cell activation, and mechanotransduction pathways have been shown to activate pro-inflammatory genes [ 2 ]. Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are a major cause of asthma exacerbations, and mechanical forces are likely to be more pronounced during asthma exacerbations [ 3 ]. Moreover, smoking is associated with worse clinical outcomes in asthma.…”

Respitatory virus infections during the first year of life a longitudinal community-based dynamic birth cohort study

“…Thus, carefully conducted longitudinal studies of otherwise-healthy infants are necessary to further understand the types of illnesses, including the shedding characteristics, associated with these viruses. positions compared to RV-C (Arden and Mackay, 2011;Gama et al, 1989; and in all species the ORF is bracketed by two untranslated regions (UTR). The 5`UTR comprises approximately 650 nucleotides and starts with a small viral protein (VPg) that serves as a primer for the genome replication.…”