BACKGROUND: Human rhinoviruses (HRV) are one of the main causes of virus induced asthma exacerbations. Infiltration of B lymphocytes into the subepithelial tissue of the lungs has been demonstrated during rhinovirus infection in allergic individuals. However, the mechanisms through which HRVs modulate the immune responses of monocytes and lymphocytes are not yet well described. OBJECTIVE: To study the dynamics of virus uptake by monocytes and lymphocytes, and the ability of HRVs to induce activation of in vitro cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. METHODS: Flow cytometry was used for the enumeration and characterization of lymphocytes. Proliferation was estimated using (3) H-thymidine or CFSE labelling and ICAM-1 blocking. We used bead based multiplex assays and quantitative PCR for cytokine quantification. HRV accumulation and replication inside B lymphocytes was detected by a combination of in situ hybridation (ISH), immunofluorescence and with PCR for positive strand and negative strand viral RNA. Cell images were acquired with imaging flow cytometry. RESULTS: By means of imaging flow cytometry, we demonstrate a strong and quick binding of HRV types 16 and 1B to monocytes, and slower interaction of these HRVs with CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells and CD19+ B cells. Importantly, we show that HRVs induce the proliferation of B cells while addition of anti-ICAM-1-antibody partially reduces this proliferation for HRV16. We prove with ISH that HRVs can enter B cells, form their viral replication centers and the newly formed virions are able to infect HeLa cells. In addition, we demonstrate that similarly to epithelial cells, HRVs induce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in PBMCs. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate for the first time that HRVs enter and form viral replication centers in B lymphocytes and induce the proliferation of B cells. Newly formed virions have the capacity to infect other cells (HeLa). These findings indicate that the regulation of human rhinovirus induced B cell responses could be a novel approach to develop therapeutics to treat the virus-induced exacerbation of asthma. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.