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Pathogens
Special Issues
Herpesvirus Infections and Antiviral Drugs
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Herpesvirus Infections and Antiviral Drugs

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 3320

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Malgorzata Krzyzowska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Laboratory of Nanobiology and Biomaterials, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: herpesviruses; nanotechnology; antivirals; neuroinfections
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antivirals are antimicrobial compounds, either produced by living organisms or obtained by chemical syntheses, that inhibit viral replication. Mechanisms of antivirals include the following: direct virus killing, interference with virus attachment/membrane fusion, preventing viruses from penetrating into cells, inhibiting the biosynthesis of viruses, and enhancing the antiviral ability of hosts. Herpesviruses are DNA viruses that can cause both latent and lytic infections. During symptomatic infection, infected cells transcribe lytic viral genes, while in some cells a small number of viral genes, termed latency-associated transcripts (LATs), are produced. LATs help viruses to persist in cells (and thus hosts) indefinitely. The long-term latency is symptom-free and makes the infected cells almost “invisible” to the immune system. Antiviral drugs, which target viral DNA polymerase, can partially control the signs and symptoms of herpes infection when used to treat initial clinical and recurrent episodes or when used as daily suppressive therapy. However, these drugs neither eradicate latent viruses nor affect the risk, frequency, or severity of recurrences after the drug is discontinued, but also to antivirals acting upon the actively replicating virus. Therefore, there is a constant need to develop both new antivirals and new treatment strategies for herpesvirus infections.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to submit your manuscript to this Special Issue on “Herpesvirus infections and antiviral drugs” in Pathogens, which will surely act as an excellent vehicle for the dissemination of your research. We will accept reviews and original scientific papers in this Special Issue, and very much look forward to your valuable contribution.

Dr. Malgorzata Krzyzowska
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. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vaccines
  • natural antivirals
  • interferons
  • antiviral proteins and peptides
  • synthetic antivirals

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 605 KiB  
Article
Detection of Human Herpesviruses in Sera and Saliva of Asymptomatic HIV-Infected Individuals Using Multiplex RT-PCR DNA Microarray
by Irna Sufiawati, Rahmi Harmiyati, Nanan Nur’aeny, Agnes Rengga Indrati, Ronny Lesmana, Rudi Wisaksana and Riezki Amalia
Pathogens 2023, 12(8), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12080993 - 28 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1260
Abstract
Human herpesviruses (HHVs) are frequently linked to an increased risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and vice versa. This study aimed to detect human herpesvirus (HHV) members in the sera and saliva of asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals. Paired saliva and serum samples were [...] Read more.
Human herpesviruses (HHVs) are frequently linked to an increased risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and vice versa. This study aimed to detect human herpesvirus (HHV) members in the sera and saliva of asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals. Paired saliva and serum samples were obtained from 30 asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals. HHVs were detected with a multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) DNA microarray Clart®Entherpex kit. A total of 30 subjects were enrolled: 23 (76.67%) men and 7 (23.33%) women. The present study showed that at least one or more HHV members were detected in the saliva and sera of all (100%) of the subjects. In the saliva, we detected herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) 6.67%, herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) 6.67%, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) 86.67%, cytomegalovirus (CMV) 63.33%, HHV-6 (40%), and HHV-7 (83.33%). In the sera, HSV-2 (20%), EBV (30%), CMV (40%), HHV-6 (0%), and HHV-7 (76.67%) were found, but not HSV-1. VZV and HHV-8 were not detected in either the saliva or sera. EBV and HHV6 were significantly more prevalent in the saliva than they were in the sera of asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the prevalence of HSV-1, EBV, CMV, HHV-6, and HHV-7 in the saliva and sera of asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the multiplex RT-PCR DNA microarray can serve as a valuable diagnostic tool that can be used as a screening tool or a first-line test for HHVs infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herpesvirus Infections and Antiviral Drugs)
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18 pages, 3106 KiB  
Article
CLEAR Strategy Inhibited HSV Proliferation Using Viral Vectors Delivered CRISPR-Cas9
by Min Ying, Huadong Wang, Tongtan Liu, Zengpeng Han, Kunzhang Lin, Qing Shi, Ning Zheng, Tao Ye, Huinan Gong and Fuqiang Xu
Pathogens 2023, 12(6), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12060814 - 07 Jun 2023
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Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a leading cause of encephalitis and infectious blindness. The commonly used clinical therapeutic drugs are nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir. However, current drugs for HSV cannot eliminate the latent virus or viral reactivation. Therefore, the development [...] Read more.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a leading cause of encephalitis and infectious blindness. The commonly used clinical therapeutic drugs are nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir. However, current drugs for HSV cannot eliminate the latent virus or viral reactivation. Therefore, the development of new treatment strategies against latent HSV has become an urgent need. To comprehensively suppress the proliferation of HSV, we designed the CLEAR strategy (coordinated lifecycle elimination against viral replication). VP16, ICP27, ICP4, and gD—which are crucial genes that perform significant functions in different stages of the HSV infection lifecycle—were selected as targeting sites based on CRISPR-Cas9 editing system. In vitro and in vivo investigations revealed that genome editing by VP16, ICP27, ICP4 or gD single gene targeting could effectively inhibit HSV replication. Moreover, the combined administration method (termed “Cocktail”) showed superior effects compared to single gene editing, which resulted in the greatest decrease in viral proliferation. Lentivirus-delivered CRISPR-Cas9/gRNA editing could effectively block HSV replication. The CLEAR strategy may provide new insights into the potential treatment of refractory HSV-1-associated diseases, particularly when conventional approaches have encountered resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herpesvirus Infections and Antiviral Drugs)
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