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Rhinoviruses (RVs) are the most common viral agents causing human infections and reign as the most rampant cause of common colds alongside notable asthma attacks, especially in children. Positioned at the vanguard of progress, our company spearheads the development of groundbreaking strategies to combat rhinovirus infections.
Rhinoviruses (RVs) belong to the family of Picornaviridae and are non enveloped viruses that are single stranded RNA. They are a major cause of infections in the upper respiratory tract, with more than 160 different serotypes divided into three species RV-A, RV-B, and RV-C. These viruses are easily spread through contact or aerosol vectors and are infamous for their ability to penetrate epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and stir up inflammation and immune responses that lead to a condition resembling common cold.
Fig.1 Schematic representation of human rhinovirus genome organization, virion structure, and species. (Stobart C. C., et al., 2017)
Antiviral Drugs
The development of antivirals targeting RVs have advanced relatively with products such as ribavirin, pleconaril and rupintrivir. These compounds are known to target specific stages of viral life cycle, ranging from entry, protease and uncoating. Pleconaril for example binds the viral capsid preventing RV uncoating. On the other hand, rupintrivir is an inhibitor of RV 3C protease which is essential for RV replication.
Host Defense Peptides
In the recent years, host defense peptides (cathelicidins) have been investigated for their potential use in fighting RV infections. These peptides have the capacity to act as direct antiviral agents while simultaneously modulating the immune response. It was previously shown that exogenous LL-37 delivery significantly reduces RV replication in vitro.
Immunomodulatory Therapies
There are other strategies that are focused on shifting the immune response of the host that have also been tried with positive results. For example, interferons can confer an antiviral state by stimulating an increase in production of interfuron stimulated genes that can curtail RV replication. Vitamin D supplementation is also hypothesized to enhance the innate immune response, thus reducing RV replication.
With the strong background in molecular biology and immunology, we create and fabricate new vaccines and therapeutics based on conserved RV antigens and pathways.
Preclinical studies are a very important segment in the building of vaccines and therapeutics. Our services comprise:
If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.
References
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.