Human Betaretrovirus and Related Diseases 2.0

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 140

Special Issue Editor

Center of Excellence for Gastrointestinal Inflammation and Immunity Research, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Interests: human betaretrovirus; mouse mammary tumor virus induction of autoimmune liver disease in mouse models; repurposing antiretroviral therapy for HBRV; viral pathogenesis; virus–host interactions; proviral integration; viral diagnostics with ELISA and cellular immune assays
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human betaretrovirus (HBRV, also referred to as HMTV – human mammary tumor virus) is the only characterized exogenous betaretrovirus in humans. Evidence for HBRV infection has been found in patients with breast cancer, lymphoma, and primary biliary cholangitis, an autoimmune liver disease. Paleontological studies provide the earliest documentation of human infection dating back to the copper age. Original infection likely arose as a result of zoonosis, as suggested by marked genomic similarity of HBRV with the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) studies and because different strains of MMTV can infect human cells. However, the route of HBRV transmission is unknown. The presence of viral sequences in human saliva indicates the possibility of microdroplet spread, whereas the demonstration of betaretrovirus particles and nucleic acid in breast milk are suggestive of neonatal passage. To date, the lack of readily available, reproducible diagnostic assays for HBRV has hindered clinical research. Nevertheless, the derivation of HBRV isolates from patient samples and the detection of proviral HBRV integration sites in human genomic DNA have documented human betaretrovirus infection. The low level of viral burden and close genomic relatedness of mouse and human viral sequences has limited firm conclusions from PCR studies. However, the construction of an interferon-g release assay to detect HBRV cellular immunity is providing more prevalence data. Translational studies have been performed on MMTV mouse models of breast cancer, lymphoma, and autoimmune biliary disease. These have provided useful tools to better understand viral pathogenesis, induction of autoimmunity, and virus–host interactions. The repurposing of HIV antiretroviral therapy in mouse models with MMTV cholangitis has identified regimens that block HBRV and provide durable clinical responses for patients with PBC. Attenuating murine cancer using both passive immunization and active vaccination with specific MMTV proteins provides further avenues for translational approaches to treat human disease. In this Special Issue, we will directly address controversies surrounding HBRV and focus on new developments in HBRV epidemiology and diagnostics, viral pathogenesis, and translational therapies to combat human disease.

Prof. Dr. Andrew L. Mason
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • human betaretrovirus
  • mouse mammary tumor virus
  • breast cancer
  • primary biliary cholangitis
  • HBRV pathogenesis
  • HBRV diagnosis
  • HBRV epidemiology
  • HBRV oncogenesis
  • proviral integration
  • antiviral cellular immune responses

Related Special Issue

Published Papers

There is no accepted submissions to this special issue at this moment.
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