Therapy of allergic rhinitis using ribavirin spray to clear nasal commensal viruses

To elucidate the potential role of commensal viruses in the etiology of AR, we performed a metagenomic analysis of nasal lavage fluid (NLF) to identify commensal viruses in the nose of mice colonizing in the specific pathogen-free (SPF) circumstances (Vehicle group). To evaluate the potential role of these commensal viruses, we reduced them in the nose of mice by administrating intranasal drops of broad-spectrum antiviral drug ribavirin daily, starting at 4-week-old and lasting for three weeks (Ribavirin group). Nasal lavage fluid (NLF) was obtained from mice that were administered intranasal drops of either vehicle (n=7) or ribavirin (n=7) daily, starting at 4 weeks old and lasting for three weeks. The NLF samples were then subjected to metatranscriptomic sequencing to assess the abundance of viruses.