The common cold is a viral disease of the upper respiratory tract, in most cases caused by rhinoviruses A, B and C. And the curious thing is that, despite being the most common infectious disease in humans, at the moment there is no known cure.
A study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) published in the journal Virology seems to have found the reason that the cold is "incurable". Using genetic sequences from the genomes of 500 rhinoviruses, he has created a topographic model in three dimensions of the protein coat (capsid) of the cold virus, specifically rhinovirus C. And it ensures that the antiviral drugs used so far have no effect on this structure . However, now that it is known how it is, specific drugs could be developed so that these viruses do not manage to evade the immune system.
Antiviral drugs work by attacking and modifying the surface characteristics of viruses, but to be effective they must fit together like a piece of a puzzle. Hence, knowing the exact three-dimensional structure of rhinovirus C is the best starting point to develop effective pharmacological treatments without "blindfold", according to the authors.
