Human rhinovirus infection induces local and systemic immunological tolerance in healthy volunteers

A large proportion of ICU patients suffer from respiratory virus infections. This is often complicated by secondary infections, suggesting increased vulnerability in these patients. Recent work has shown that in bacterial sepsis, a immunosuppressive state called “immunoparalysis” accounts for this increased vulnerability. However, virus-induced immunoparalysis is largely unstudied. Human Rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the most frequent cause of the common cold. The “experimental cold model” is widely used to investigate the pathogenesis of HRV infection. However, the effects of repeated HRV exposure and thus possible development of virus-induced immunoparalysis have never been studied. Furthermore, although the virulent HRV-C can cause systemic and severe infections in both children and adults and the less virulent HRV-A strain can cause severe infections in immunocompromised patients as well, the HRV-A-induced systemic inflammatory and lower respiratory tract effects have never been studied in healthy subjects. Finally, it remains to be determined, whether serostatus alters the HRV-induced inflammatory response.