The common cold can commonly cause different symptoms in different people. A new study shed some light on why this may be the case. (Photo: Getty)
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Who knows why the common cold can leave some people with just some slight sniffles in their noses but others with much more severe symptoms? Well, you could say that a research team at Yale grew very nosy about this question. These researchers literally grew parts of human noses in laboratory dishes and then tried to infect these experimental noses with a virus that commonly causes the common cold. And they found something in these noses that could “interfere on” whether these viruses could infect these nose cells, as described by a publication in the scientific journal Cell Press Blue.
Growing Noses And Infecting Them With A Common Cold Virus
Now, growing noses in laboratory dishes may sound like some super futuristic stuff from that 1973 foward-to-the-future movie Sleeper. But that’s kind of what the team from the Yale School of Medicine (Bao Wang, Julien A.R. Amat, Valia T. Mihaylova, Guilin Wang and Ellen F. Foxman) and School of Public Health (Yong Kong) did. The team grew real human nasal cells into organoids that then could grow little hairs known as cilia and produce mucus, just like the inside lining of your nose and respiratory tract.
The team then tried to infect these nasal cells with rhinoviruses. Rhinoviruses won’t turn you into a rhino but are very common causes of the common cold, as I have detailed before in Forbes. The prefix “rhino” here actually is Greek for “nose,” which is where these viruses typically first enter your body and do their infecting thing.
The research team then observed whether the nasal lining cells indeed got infected, what genes responsible for immune defense mechanisms got turned on and what happened to the cells close to the ones that got infected. This included measuring what the resulting virus levels were, which cells ended up dying, how much mucus was produced and what levels of different immune defense chemicals were produced. They also repeated this procedure while applying drugs that could block the production of these different immune defense chemicals.
Interferon Production May Be Key In Limiting The Spread Of The Common Cold Virus
Some of these chemicals are known as interferons. Interferons got their name after it was observed that they can “interfere” with what viruses and other invaders can do. The Cleveland Clinic website calls interferons the “frontline defenders in your body,” sort of like the infantry of your immune susyem. Different immune cells like white blood cells tend to produce interferons when there’s some kind of infection or cancer. The interferons then trigger a cascade of other chemicals to be produced including cytokines.
Researchers began creating laboratory-made interferons back in 1986 and then using them to help the immune system fight different infections and cancers. The way to classify interferons has been as easy as “A,B, G.” They’ve fallen into three main categories based on what cells produce them and what can stimulate their production: interferon-alpha, interferon-beta and interferon-gamma. There is an interferon lambda that has recently been discovered but needs more research to better characterize.
Well, this research team from Yale found that their laboratory noses could produce interferons that could then keep the rhinovirus from infecting cells and thus limit the spread of the virus. Weakening or completely blocking this interferon production, in turn, apparently allowed the rhinoviruses to infect a whole lot more cells, cause a whole lot more inflammation and do a whole lot more damage. All of this suggests that the presence and speed of your cells’ interferon response can play a big role in whether you get only mild symptoms versus more major symptoms with the common cold.
What Might Affect Interferon Production Against The Common Cold Virus
This is yet another reminder that the symptoms that you get with the common cold are the result of two things—the nastiness of the virus and your immune system’s response to the virus. Your immune defenses can affect the degree to which the virus spreads and does damage. In fact, many of your symptoms like mucus production are actually your immune system’s reactions to the virus.
A big question then is how might you boost your interferon response capabilities. It’s not quite clear yet why different people may have better interferon responses than others. Some people could be born this way, in the words of Lady Gaga. At the same time, all the things that affect your general health and immune system—such as your nutrition and physical activity—could potentially affect your interferon response as well. For example, studies have looked at whether ingesting certain herbs can boost interferon responses. Prior exposure to such viruses could make a difference too. Much to be learned about interferon responses there is, as Yoda might say.
Different research groups are continuing to work on ways to boost interferon responses and use different interferons to treat different conditions. Interferon-alpha is already being used to treat conditions like chronic hepatitis B and C, hairy cell leukemia, Kaposi sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal cell carcinoma, melanomas and genital warts. Interferon-beta can be part of multiple sclerosis treatment. And interferon-gamma is used against chronic granulomatous disease and a bone disease known as severe malignant osteopetrosis.
If you are waiting for interferons to be available to shove up your nose to prevent or treat the common cold, don’t hold your breath just yet. More research is needed to determine whether and how this might become a reality. In the meantime, there are things that you can do to keep you from getting the common cold such as washing your filthy, filthy hands more frequently and thoroughly, as I have urged before in Forbes. It also helps to regularly disinfect things that you are likely to touch like your smartphone and Chris Hemsworth’s bicep. Finally, try to be, umm, more picky about when and how often you touch your nose, because who knows where the rhinovirus may be lurking.