In order to infect cells lining-the respiratory tract, the viruses must contact the host cell and interact with a receptor that triggers penetration of the host cell membrane. This presents a formidable barrier to infection. Respiratory mucus and fluid are some 10 micrometres in depth and compared to the size of respiratory viruses such as a rhinovirus, which is some 30 nanometres in size. Respiratory viruses are trapped and washed away in a protective layer of respiratory mucus as part of the normal respiratory defence against infection by mucociliary clearance. IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRICAL CHARGE ON VIRUSES AND CELLS This article will discuss how common cold viruses may utilise their electrical charge to reach the host cell surface and how this mechanism may be confounded by large polyanionic molecules such as iota-carrageenan.Ģ. One common factor shared by all the common cold viruses is that they must somehow reach their specific host cell receptor by moving down through a relatively great depth of respiratory fluid and mucus and that they must achieve this journey without any means of self-propulsion. The common cold, therefore, presents a formidable challenge for the development of antiviral treatments because of the diverse viruses responsible for this disease. Antiviral treatments aimed at blocking the viral receptor or host cell receptor are unlikely to be of benefit in treating common cold as they are developed to act specifically on only one group of viruses. With such a wide range of viruses responsible for the common cold syndrome, it is not surprising that there is a great unmet need for a safe and well-tolerated antiviral treatment for this most common disease.Ī major issue in developing an antiviral treatment for the common cold is that focussing on one group of viruses such as rhinoviruses, which may on occasion account for at least 50% of colds, means that the treatment would only be effective in treating 50% of colds, and this would not be acceptable as a freely available treatment to the general public. Common cold is caused by a wide range of viruses such as rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, influenza viruses, Respiratory Syncytial Viruses (RSV), parainfluenza viruses, adenoviruses, enteroviruses, metapneumoviruses and unknown viruses which may be responsible for 20-30% of infections. Acute upper respiratory tract viral infections such as common cold are probably the most common viral diseases of mankind.
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