Why a Cold Hits Some Harder: The Nasal Immune Response Holds the Key

A Yale-led study using lab-grown nasal airway organoids infected with rhinovirus shows that the severity of colds depends on the early interferon response in nasal cells; robust interferon keeps infection to under 2% of cells, while blocking interferon leads to wider infection, increased inflammation and mucus, and slower cilia, explaining why symptoms vary and suggesting that boosting interferon early could help treatments.