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A New Approach to the Common Cold
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14565 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1988 |
2,747 Words |
| Author
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David Proud
David Proud is associate professor of medicine at The Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. |
The average American adult can expect to suffer from the misery of cold symptoms two to four times every year. In children, the incidence rises to six to eight colds annually. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that, as the most common acute respiratory illness experienced by humans, colds are the greatest cause of days lost from work and school. The cost of these lost days, added to the cost of over-the-counter medications purchased by cold sufferers, runs into the billions of dollars.
One reason colds are so prevalent is that there are over 200 different viruses capable of inducing the pattern of symptoms we call a cold. Approximately one third of colds are caused by members of the group of viruses called rhinoviruses. Although researchers continue attempts to develop cold vaccines, the incredible array of virus strains responsible for colds makes this a formidable, if not impossible, task.
Exactly how so many different viruses can induce such a similar spectrum of symptoms is still a mystery. The central role of viral infection in the development of a cold is indisputable, but the sequence of events between viral exposure and the manifestation of symptoms remains essentially unknown and may, indeed, be different depending upon the type of virus. On the other hand, the development of the same symptomatic response could indicate that the viruses that cause colds may all trigger a common pathway that leads to symptoms.
Unlike an influenza virus, which causes damage to the epithelial cells that line the nose, rhinovirus infection does not result in any apparent change in the nasal lining, so symptoms are not due to cell death. Recently, my colleagues and I decided to consider a different possibility. Perhaps symptoms actually result from the actions of inflammatory chemicals generated as a consequence of viral infection. We have demonstrated that one such group of chemicals, called kinins, are indeed produced during rhinovirus-induced colds and have shown further that kinins are capable of inducing cold-like symptoms.
What Are Kinins?
Kinins are peptides (small proteins) consisting of nine or ten amino acids. Specific enzymes generate kinins from large protein molecules, called kininogens, that are present in the blood. The human body produces two kinds of kinin molecules. Bradykinin was first discovered in 1949 (although its structure was not determined until 1960) and was given its name based on its ability to induce
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