Common cold is probably one of the most common illnesses to man.
Although usually mild, with symptoms lasting a week or less, it is a leading cause of doctor visits and lost hours both at school and at the workplace. More than 200 different viruses are known to cause the symptoms of the common cold. Rhinoviruses need to gain access to human cells in order to replicate and produce new viruses, thus propagating the infection. The normal function of this cell-surface, transmembrane molecule, is to provide adhesion between endothelial cells and leukocytes after injury or stress. However, the major group of rhinoviruses attach to its tip, at the extreme distal from the cell membrane, and this interaction initiates entry of the virus into the host cell.