Arenaviruses 2023

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2024 | Viewed by 2022

Special Issue Editors

Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
Interests: virus-host Interactions; post translation modifications of viral proteins; virus protein-host protein interactions; antiviral and vaccine development; arenaviruses; hantaviruses; flaviviruses; coronaviruses; defective interfering particles
Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA
Interests: arenaviruses; influenza; pathogenesis; evolution; vaccine development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Arenaviruses are persistent threats to global health due to their carriage in numerous animal reservoirs worldwide. Greater understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying the arenavirus life cycle is needed to mitigate their damage upon spillover to human populations. Recently, advances in the arenavirus field have identified host factors required for production of infectious and defective interfering viral particles and led to the development of novel tools for arenavirus antiviral and vaccine development. However, as with all viruses of pandemic potential, increased scrutiny on their basic biology is warranted to answer the many questions remaining.

This special issue is devoted to the cellular virology underlying the arenavirus life cycle. The thematic issue aims to cover a wide spectrum of arenavirus cellular virology, including basic studies of novel viral protein function, identification of viral protein motifs and post-translational modifications, and elucidating host factors critical for viral propagation or restriction. We also aim to publish translational research informed by these basic studies, including strategies for viral attenuation through targeting the putative viral and host factors required for arenavirus propagation. Research on the cellular virology underlying viral pathogenesis in reservoir and spillover hosts are especially welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Jason Botten
Dr. Rebekah Honce
Guest Editors

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. Viruses 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 2600 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

  • arenavirus
  • anti- and pro-viral host factors
  • novel viral protein function(s)
  • regulation of viral protein function
  • post-translational modifications, viral-host interactions
  • viral mitigation strategies
  • viral attenuation
  • defective interfering particles.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 6270 KiB  
Article
Effects of the Natural Flavonoid Quercetin on Arenavirus Junín Infection
by Aaron Ezequiel Alvarez De Lauro, Miguel Angel Pelaez, Agostina Belén Marquez, Mariel Selene Wagner, Luis Alberto Scolaro, Cybele Carina García, Elsa Beatriz Damonte and Claudia Soledad Sepúlveda
Viruses 2023, 15(8), 1741; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15081741 - 15 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1164
Abstract
There is no specific chemotherapy approved for the treatment of pathogenic arenaviruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever (HF) in the population of endemic regions in America and Africa. The present study reports the effects of the natural flavonoid quercetin (QUER) on the infection [...] Read more.
There is no specific chemotherapy approved for the treatment of pathogenic arenaviruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever (HF) in the population of endemic regions in America and Africa. The present study reports the effects of the natural flavonoid quercetin (QUER) on the infection of A549 and Vero cells with Junín virus (JUNV), agent of the Argentine HF. By infectivity assays, a very effective dose-dependent reduction of JUNV multiplication was shown by cell pretreatment at 2–6 h prior to the infection at non-cytotoxic concentrations, with 50% effective concentration values in the range of 6.1–7.5 µg/mL. QUER was also active by post-infection treatment but with minor efficacy. Mechanistic studies indicated that QUER mainly affected the early steps of virus adsorption and internalization in the multiplication cycle of JUNV. Treatment with QUER blocked the phosphorylation of Akt without changes in the total protein expression, detected by Western blot, and the consequent perturbation of the PI3K/Akt pathway was also associated with the fluorescence redistribution from membrane to cytoplasm of TfR1, the cell receptor recognized by JUNV. Then, it appears that the cellular antiviral state, induced by QUER treatment, leads to the prevention of JUNV entry into the cell. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arenaviruses 2023)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop