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February 2019 - Katarzyna Niespodziana

Dr. Katarzyna Niespodziana

MedUni Wien RESEARCHER OF THE MONTH February 2019

PreDicta chip-based high resolution diagnosis of rhinovirus-induced wheeze

Allergens and infections by rhinovirus (RV), the cause of a common cold, are major factors triggering asthma attacks. Whether an asthma attack is really caused by a rhinovirus infection could not be firmly established so far because only nucleic-acid based strategies for virus detection have been available but no serological tests measuring rhinovirus-specific immune responses. In the current study we developed the “PreDicta” chip which contains a large collection of micro-arrayed peptides and proteins representing the currently known rhinovirus species and strains. We measured RV-specific antibody responses in serum samples of 120 children collected during an acute episode of wheeze and at follow-up visit after approximately 11 weeks. Our study shows that one can identify the culprit rhinovirus species in children with wheeze attacks by measuring strain-specific increases of antibodies with only a drop of blood. Thus, it seems that our data have the potential to revolutionize the way how RV-triggered severe respiratory illness will be diagnosed in the future. Furthermore, the chip will also be useful for global serological identification of RV species triggering severe respiratory illness and may ultimately pave the road towards RV-specific therapeutic and prophylactic strategies.

Selected Literature

  1. Holgate, S.T., Roberts, G., Arshad, H.S., Howarth, P.H., Davies, D.E. The role of the airway epithelium and its interaction with environmental factors in asthma pathogenesis. Proc Am Thorac Soc 6, 655-659 (2009).
  2. Contoli, M., et al. Role of deficient type III interferon-lambda production in asthma exacerbations. Nat Med 12, 1023-6 (2006).
  3. Jackson, D.J. et al. Wheezing rhinovirus illnesses in early life predict asthma development in high-risk children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 178, 667-672 (2008).
  4. Palmenberg, A.C. et al. Sequencing and analyses of all known human rhinovirus genomes reveal structure and evolution. Science 324, 55-59 (2009).
  5. Uncapher, C.R., DeWitt, C.M., Colonno, R.J. The major and minor group receptor families contain all but one human rhinovirus serotype. Virology 180, 814-817 (1991).
  6. Niespodziana, K. et al.  Misdirected antibody responses against an N-terminal epitope on human rhinovirus VP1 as explanation for recurrent RV infections. Faseb J 26, 1001-1008 (2012).
  7. Niespodziana, K. et al. Rhinovirus-induced VP1-specific antibodies are group-specific and associated with severity of respiratory symptoms. EBioMedicine 2, 64-70 (2014).
  8. Niespodziana, K., et al. PreDicta chip-based high resolution diagnosis of rhinovirus-induced wheeze. Nat Commun 9, 2382. (2018).

Dr. Katarzyna Niespodziana

Medizinische Universität Wien
Institut für Pathophysiologie und Allergieforschung
Abteilung für Immunpathologie
Währinger Gürtel 18-20
1090 Wien

T: +43 (O)1 40400 51130
katarzyna.niespodziana@meduniwien.ac.at