Insights into Viral Pathogenesis: Host Antiviral Responses and Viral Countermeasures
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2024 | Viewed by 1679
Special Issue Editor
Interests: DNA virus; RNA virus; innate immunity; viral pathogenesis; immune evasion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As obligate intracellular parasites, there is extraordinary selective pressure on viruses to exhibit mastery at manipulating, usurping, and/or inhibiting cellular functions to efficiently replicate. Thus, it is not surprising that studies of viruses have, in turn, led to key discoveries regarding the many cellular processes and factors they target. For example, mRNA processing, cellular oncogenes, and an inhibitor of apoptosis proteins were revealed by studying viruses. Given the incredible number of molecular virus–host interactions that occur at all stages of the viral life cycle, the basic cellular functions and processes that can be revealed by studying viruses are virtually limitless.
Virus–host coevolution has resulted in remarkable diversity in both host antiviral responses and viral countermeasures to overcome such host defenses. For example, the critical role of the interferon response in mammalian antiviral immunity is underscored by the finding of viral immune evasion factors encoded by disparate viruses that function to inhibit this response. In contrast, insects, which lack interferon responses, appear to predominantly employ antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) response pathways to combat virus infection. However, insect viruses, in turn, use both common and unique mechanisms to target RNAi responses. Identifying and characterizing virus–host interactions within this evolutionary “arms race” is critical for understanding how the outcomes of these interactions favor either productive viral replication or abortive infection. Moreover, the identification of virus-encoded immune evasion proteins can allow for their exploitation as molecular tools to discover and probe the host antiviral machinery they target.
For this Special Issue, original research articles, review articles, and short communications are welcome. Research areas of interest include (but are not limited to): host innate and adaptive antiviral immune responses, mechanisms of viral evasion of innate or adaptive immune responses, and animal model studies investigating antiviral host immune responses and/or viral pathogenesis/virulence. Translational studies that apply basic concepts in virus–host interactions to new therapeutic strategies (e.g., oncolytic virotherapy, gene therapy, etc.) are also welcome.
Dr. Don Gammon
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- RNA virus
- DNA virus
- innate immunity
- adaptive immunity
- immune evasion
- viral pathogenesis
- virus–host interactions
