Rhinovirus, which is often referred to as the “common cold virus”, has been neglected as a cause of severe illness. Rhinovirus belongs to the Picornaviridae family. According to the latest ICTV release, there are 3 rhinovirus species (Rhinovirus A, Rhinovirus B, Rhinovirus C) under the genus Enterovirus, which also includes Enterovirus AeH and Enterovirus J. Rhinovirus is a non-enveloped, spherical virus with a diameter of about 30 nm. The icosahedral capsid encloses a 7.2-kb positive-sense single-stranded RNA viral genome. Rhinovirus first attaches to cell surface by the binding between viral VP1 and the host cell surface receptor. Depending on species, the host receptors can be intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), heparan sulfate or cadherin-related family member 3 (CDHR3). Lipids play an important role in the viral replication. Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III b (PI4KIIIb) is required for rhinovirus infection. Inhibitors of PI4KIIIb has been shown to inhibit rhinovirus C replication using a replicon construct consisting of rhinovirus C genome sequences.

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