Multiomics RVCOPD Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using multiomics to define mechanisms of rhinovirus-induced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease exacerbations to develop novel therapies and therapeutic targets
IRAS ID
351634
Contact name
Sebastian Johnston
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
We aim to understand the biological mechanisms that underlie exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to drive the discovery of new treatments.
COPD is the 4th leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.5 million deaths in 2021. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) involve sudden flare-ups of symptoms, commonly triggered by viral infections, and are the major cause of COPD morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Developing new treatments for AECOPD requires a better understanding of the processes occurring in the lungs, before and during exacerbations. Naturally-occuring AECOPD are challenging to study in a way that allows reliable measurement of disease mechanisms, and repeated lung sampling can be impractical and potentially dangerous.
We therefore developed a human rhinovirus challenge experimental model of AECOPD. This involves infecting participants in our study with a common cold virus called rhinovirus (RV). We have demonstrated that RV causes mild-to-moderate exacerbations in 95% of COPD subjects, that we can control confounding factors to take reliable measurements, and that we can safely and easily perform repeated sampling of the lungs and respiratory tract.
We will compare people who have COPD with people who do not have COPD, including smokers and non-smokers, to identify the processes important in COPD. We will measure a range of clinical and scientific outcomes, using cutting-edge ‘multiomics’ techniques to understand mechanisms in RV-induced AECOPD to an extent that has not been achieved before.
The crucial information that this study generates will be used to identify new treatments to reduce the frequency and severity of AECOPD. Our data will be made publicly available for others to use and analyse, and will be integrated with other databases to maximise the scientific benefit that is gained from our participants' contribution to the project.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0414
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion