Early antiviral responses to rhinovirus infection in asthma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Early antiviral responses to human rhinovirus infection in asthma
IRAS ID
300376
Contact name
Sebastian Johnston
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Many people with asthma have increased asthma symptoms when they have a cold. The reasons for this are not well understood, but it has been proposed that the immune response to cold viruses is different in people with asthma. In particular, the production of ‘interferons’ that are a key part of our antiviral defences, is thought to be reduced compared to healthy individuals. Studies to confirm this have so far been inconclusive, but none have looked at the earliest, pre-symptomatic stages of infection in human volunteers.
When people with asthma are deliberately infected with the common cold virus (rhinovirus), a procedure that has been carried out many times safely including by our group, the virus replicates more than in people without asthma with higher amounts of virus in nasal secretions. An early deficiency in interferons could explain this. However when interferons are measured once symptoms have developed and infection is established, they are found to be increased, but this may reflect the greater amount of virus at that time.
We plan to infect volunteers with and without asthma with the common cold virus in order to study the immune response at the earliest stages, before symptoms have developed. To do so, we will take serial samples from the nose to measure interferons and the amount of virus.
Virus-induced worsening of asthma is responsible for most of the healthcare burden associated with asthma, despite existing treatments. Understanding if the immune response to viruses is impaired in asthma is a critical question, and we hope will lead to new treatments.
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0746
Date of REC Opinion
30 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion