title: Rhinovirus-16 colds in healthy and in asthmatic subjects: similar changes in upper and lower airways.
abstract: Rhinovirus (RV) infections appear to precipitate most asthma exacerbations. To investigate whether RV-16 induces different inflammatory changes in upper and lower airways of asthmatic and healthy subjects, we inoculated 10 nonatopic healthy and 11 atopic asthmatic adults with 2,000 TCID50 RV-16. Subjects recorded symptoms and peak flow daily; and they underwent spirometry, methacholine challenge (PC20), nasal lavage, and sputum induction at baseline and on Days 2, 4, 15, and 29 d after inoculation. One asthmatic subject developed an exacerbation requiring prednisone treatment 5 d after inoculation. The cold symptom severity (Jackson score) did not differ between groups. During the cold, asthma symptoms increased slightly from baseline in the asthmatic group; and PC20 decreased in the healthy group. However, peak flow, bronchodilator use, and spirometry did not change in either group. At baseline, asthmatics had higher neutrophils, eosinophils, and interleukin (IL)-6 in nasal lavage. After inoculation, both groups developed significant increases in nasal neutrophils, IL-6 and IL-8, and modest increases in sputum neutrophils and IL-6, but not IL-8. However, these changes did not differ between groups. IL-5, interferon-gamma, and RANTES were detected only in nasal lavages from two asthmatic subjects, who had the most severe colds. IL-11 was not detected in any sample. We conclude that inflammatory responses of upper and lower airways during RV-16 colds are similar in asthmatic and healthy subjects, and that RV-16 infection is not by itself sufficient to provoke clinical worsening of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Pulmonary Medicine and of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine and the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: F F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schnurr
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Boushey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D003139:Common Cold / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007378:Interleukins / Q000378:metabolism; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007378:Interleukins