Stanley M. Lemon, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and department of microbiology and immunology, and his lab, with GSK colleagues, have discovered the majority of rhinoviruses need a human protein called STING to infect cells and replicate to cause disease.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research reveals an Achilles heel of rhinoviruses, which account for as much as 70% of common colds and acute wheezing episodes, and likely account for tens of billions of dollars in health-related costs each year in the United States. There is no effective anti-viral treatment.
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