When a rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, infects the lining of our nasal passages, our cells work together to fight the virus by triggering an arsenal of antiviral defenses. In a paper publishing January 19 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue, researchers demonstrate how the cells in our noses work together to defend us from the common cold and suggest that our body’s defense to rhinovirus-not the virus itself-typically predicts whether or not we catch a cold, as well as how bad our symptoms will be.
As the number one cause of common colds and a major cause of breathing problems in people with asthma and other chronic lung conditions, rhinoviruses are very important in human health. This research allowed us to peer into the human nasal lining and see what is happening…