• Jua Iwasaki, Wendy-Anne Smith, Siew-Kim Khoo, Joelene Bizzintino, Guicheng Zhang, Des W Cox, Ingrid A Laing, Peter N Le Souëf, Wayne R Thomas, and Belinda J Hales.
• Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
• J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2014 Jul 1; 134 (1): 25-32.

BackgroundAsthma exacerbations are associated with human rhinovirus (HRV) infections, and more severe exacerbations are associated with HRV-C. We have previously shown that the HRV-C-specific antibody response is low in healthy adult sera and that most of the antibody to HRV-C is cross-reactive with HRV-A.ObjectivesTo compare the antibody response to each HRV species in asthmatic and nonasthmatic children in whom the type of HRV infection was known.MethodsTotal and specific IgG₁ binding to HRV viral capsid protein antigens of HRV-A, -B, and -C were tested in the plasma from nonasthmatic children (n = 47) and children presenting to the emergency department with asthma exacerbations (n = 96). HRV, found in most of the children at the time of their exacerbation (72%), was analyzed using molecular typing.ResultsAsthmatic children had higher antibody responses to HRV. The titers specific to HRV-A, and to a lesser extent HRV-B, were higher than in nonasthmatic controls. The species-specific responses to HRV-C were markedly lower than titers to HRV-A and HRV-B in both asthmatic and nonasthmatic children (P < .001). The titers both at presentation and after convalescence were not associated with the HRV genotype detected during the exacerbation.ConclusionsThe higher total anti-HRV antibody titers of asthmatic children and their higher anti-HRV-A and -B titers show their development of a heightened antiviral immune response. The low species-specific HRV-C titers found in all groups, even when the virus was found, point to a different and possibly less efficacious immune response to this species.Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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