Localization of rhinovirus replication in vitro with in situ hybridization

To facilitate understanding of human rhinovirus (HRV) pathogenesis, methods were developed for detection of HRV infection in vitro using in situ hybridization (ISH). HRV-14 RNA probes and oligonucleotide probes representing conserved sequences in the 5'-non-translated region were labeled with 35S and used to detect infected HeLa or WI-38 strain human embryonic lung cells in cytological preparations. ISH was shown to be specific for detection of HRV on a single-cell basis. Subsequently, in human nasal polyps infected in vitro, both oligonucleotide- and ribo-probes produced a strong signal in association with ciliated epithelial cells. In human adenoids infected in vitro, a signal was observed in non-ciliated epithelial cells. This study shows that HRV replicates in ciliated cells in the epithelium of human nasal polyps infected in vitro, and the presence of viral RNA in non-ciliated cells of the human adenoid infected in vitro suggests that other cell types may also support rhinovirus replication.