13 Feb 2009 04:00 AM
Scientists Unravel Genetic Codes And Family Trees Of Common Cold Viruses
US scientists have unravelled the genetic code of all known strains of the common cold virus; by completing their diverse genomic sequences
they were able to map not only their RNA configurations but also determine their family trees to reveal how closely they may be related and what
characteristics they may or may not share as a result of mutating through neighbouring or distant evolutionary branches. The results will provide a
useful platform for researching and developing vaccines against the common cold, they said.
The study was the work of researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is published online before print in the 12 February issue of Science.
The authors wrote that human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a major cause of diseases in the upper and lower respiratory tract of humans worldwide and there are many different phenotypes or strains.
Senior author, Dr Stephen B Liggett, professor of medicine and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of its Cardiopulmonary Genomics Program, said in a separate statement:
"There has been no success in developing effective drugs to cure the common cold, which we believe is due to incomplete information about the genetic composition of all these strains."
Liggett, who is a pulmonologist and molecular geneticist, said that we tend to think of colds as more of a nuisance than anything, but they can be risky for the very young and the elderly, and can trigger asthma attacks at any age.
"Also, recent studies indicate that early rhinovirus infection in children can program their immune system to develop asthma by adolescence," said Liggett.
Liggett and colleagues discovered that human rhinoviruses that cause the common cold are organized in about 15 family groups, each with its own ancestral path, which may explain why no one anti-viral drug works against all of them.
"Perhaps several anti-viral drugs could be developed, targeted to specific genetic regions of certain groups," explained Liggett, adding that, "the choice of which drug to prescribe would be based on the genetic characteristics of a patient's rhinovirus infection…
The study was the work of researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is published online before print in the 12 February issue of Science.
The authors wrote that human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are a major cause of diseases in the upper and lower respiratory tract of humans worldwide and there are many different phenotypes or strains.
Senior author, Dr Stephen B Liggett, professor of medicine and physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of its Cardiopulmonary Genomics Program, said in a separate statement:
"There has been no success in developing effective drugs to cure the common cold, which we believe is due to incomplete information about the genetic composition of all these strains."
Liggett, who is a pulmonologist and molecular geneticist, said that we tend to think of colds as more of a nuisance than anything, but they can be risky for the very young and the elderly, and can trigger asthma attacks at any age.
"Also, recent studies indicate that early rhinovirus infection in children can program their immune system to develop asthma by adolescence," said Liggett.
Liggett and colleagues discovered that human rhinoviruses that cause the common cold are organized in about 15 family groups, each with its own ancestral path, which may explain why no one anti-viral drug works against all of them.
"Perhaps several anti-viral drugs could be developed, targeted to specific genetic regions of certain groups," explained Liggett, adding that, "the choice of which drug to prescribe would be based on the genetic characteristics of a patient's rhinovirus infection…
