Host immune responses to rhinovirus: Mechanisms in asthma

Abstract

Viral respiratory infections can have a profound effect on many aspects of asthma including its inception, exacerbations, and, possibly, severity. Of the many viral respiratory infections that influence asthma, the common cold virus, rhinovirus, has emerged as the most frequent illness associated with exacerbations and other aspects of asthma. The mechanisms by which rhinovirus influences asthma are not fully established, but current evidence indicates that the immune response to this virus is critical in this process. Many airway cell types are involved in the immune response to rhinovirus, but most important are respiratory epithelial cells and possibly macrophages. Infection of epithelial cells generates a variety of proinflammatory mediators to attract inflammatory cells to the airway with a subsequent worsening of underlying disease. Furthermore, there is evidence that the epithelial airway antiviral response to rhinovirus may be defective in asthma. Therefore, understanding the immune response to rhinovirus is a key step in defining mechanisms of asthma, exacerbations, and, perhaps most importantly, improved treatment.

Childhood asthma and infection: virus-induced exacerbations as determinants and modifiers: Figure 1–

“…The bronchial epithelium is the site of viral replication [61] and participates in the initiation of antiviral responses [62,63], innate and adaptive immune responses and inflammation ( fig. 1) [64]. RVs are also able to pass into the bloodstream, causing viraemia, more frequently during acute and severe asthma exacerbations [65].…”

CCL7 and IRF-7 Mediate Hallmark Inflammatory and IFN Responses following Rhinovirus 1B Infection

“…Normally RV infections induce a rapid production of IFN-a and IFN-b along with the recruitment of neutrophils following detection of RV by epithelial cells and macrophages (5)(6)(7). Robust IFN responses are capable of limiting inflammation and reducing the duration, severity, and spread of viral infection (8).…”

Human rhinovirus in the lower respiratory tract infections of young children and the possible involvement of a secondary respiratory viral agent

“…106(3): 316-321, May 2011 Human rhinovirus (HRV) is typically associated with mild upper respiratory tract infections and exacerbation of asthma in children (Gern & Busse 1999, Manoha et al 2007, Mackay 2008, Kelly & Busse 2008. HRV is a member of the Picornaviridae family and is composed of a nonenveloped particle with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome.…”