Kim SR, et al. - In view of the observation that human rhinovirus (HRV) infection causes more than 80% of all common colds and is associated with severe complications in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, researchers screened 800 FDA-approved drugs to identify antiviral drug against HRV infection. In this investigation, they found budesonide as one of the possible drug candidates. Findings reveal that following HRV infection budesonide protected host cells from cytotoxicity. A decrease in lung inflammation by HRV infection was observed with intranasal administration of budesonide. It also induced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species followed by activation of autophagy. Results thereby suggested budesonide as a promising antiviral and anti-inflammatory drug candidate for the treatment of human rhinovirus infection.