Rhinovirus

Rhinoviruses (RV) are small, approximately 30 nm in diameter, viruses consisting of a simple viral capsid and a positive sense single strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA) with a genome approximately 7200 kb in size. The capsid contains four proteins, VP1−VP4, arranged in 60 repeating protomeric units in an icosahedron. They are classifi ed in the order Picornavirales, family Picornaviridae and genus Enterovirus. Within the Enterovirus genus there are three RV species; A, B and C. RVs enter via the upper respiratory tract and bind to respiratory epithelial cells via several receptors which are diff erent depending on the RV species. RV-A and RV-B bind to the intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) receptor and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and RV-C binds to the newly identifi ed cadherin-related family member 3 receptor (CDHR-3). RVs are the most common cause of respiratory tract infection in infants and almost all infants develop at least one RV infection in the fi rst year of life.

References

1.Drysdale SB,et al. J Infect. 2017;74 Suppl 1:S41–S46.