Human Paramyxoviruses

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 (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 4055

Special Issue Editors

Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4222, Australia
Interests: respiratory viruses; host–virus interactions; host–virus co-evolution; glycovirology; antiviral drug design and development; ex vivo tissular models; sialic acid; blood group antigens
Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4222, Australia
Interests: respiratory viruses; glycovirology; host–virus interactions; antiviral drug design and development; structural biology; sialic acid

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

First isolated in the late 1950s, human parainfluenza viruses (HPIV) are enveloped single-stranded RNA (-) viruses, members of the family Paramyoviridae. Worldwide, HPIV are important respiratory pathogens responsible for acute lower respiratory infections (LRI) such as croup, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia in young children, the elderly and immunocompromised people, the latest group presenting an increased risk of mortality associated to HPIV infection. Despite important research efforts, no drugs or vaccines are currently approved for treatment or prevention of HPIV LRI. Amongst all HPIV proteins, the surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin–neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) have been the main targets for HPIV antiviral drug design and vaccine development. HN is known to bind specifically to terminal sialic acid (Neu5Ac) decorating glycoconjugates at the surface of respiratory epithelial cells, while F contributes to hPIV nucleocapsid entry to target cells. In addition, HN cleaves terminal Neu5Ac from HPIV glycoreceptor(s) to facilitate HPIV progeny release, to prevent virions aggregates and de novo binding to hPIV infected cells. Moreover, HN and F are essential to generate neutralizing antibodies following HPIV infection. Despite the central roles of HN and F in the HPIV lifecycle and adaptative immunity, other HPIV proteins as well as host-specific proteins and functions may represent interesting targets for the development of novel therapeutics and vaccine candidates.

This Special Issue of Viruses seeks to cover all aspects of current knowledge on human Paramyxoviruses, including, but not restricted to, epidemiology, virus evolution, host–virus interactions, viral replication, infection models, immunology and inflammation, therapeutics, and vaccines. It will incorporate original research articles, reviews, and commentaries to illustrate and discuss the current state of the field, recent discoveries, as well as remaining gaps in knowledge.

Dr. Patrice Guillon
Dr. Larissa Dirr
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Paramyxoviridae
  • respirovirus
  • rubulavirus
  • epidemiology
  • evolution
  • virus–host interactions
  • glycoreceptors
  • molecular interaction
  • viral replication
  • antiviral drug design
  • vaccine development
  • inflammation and immune response

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2544 KiB  
Article
Investigating Local Patterns of Mumps Virus Circulation, Using a Combination of Molecular Tools
by Ana M. Gavilán, Paula Perán-Ramos, Juan Carlos Sanz, Luis García-Comas, Marta Pérez-Abeledo, Ana M. Castellanos, José M. Berciano, Noemí López-Perea, Josefa Masa-Calles, Juan E. Echevarría and Aurora Fernández-García
Viruses 2023, 15(12), 2420; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15122420 - 13 Dec 2023
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Abstract
Mumps is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the mumps virus (MuV). However, MuV has re-emerged in many countries with high vaccine coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends molecular surveillance based on sequencing of the small hydrophobic (SH) gene. Additionally, the combined use [...] Read more.
Mumps is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the mumps virus (MuV). However, MuV has re-emerged in many countries with high vaccine coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends molecular surveillance based on sequencing of the small hydrophobic (SH) gene. Additionally, the combined use of SH and non-coding regions (NCR) has been described in different studies, proving to be a useful complement marker to discriminate general patterns of circulation at national and international levels. The aim of this work is to test local-level usefulness of the combination of SH and MF-NCR sequencing in tracing hidden transmission clusters and chains during the last epidemic wave (2015–2020) in Spain. A database with 903 cases from the Autonomous Community of Madrid was generated by the integration of microbiological and epidemiological data. Of these, 453 representative cases were genotyped. Eight different SH variants and thirty-four SH haplotypes were detected. Local MuV circulation showed the same temporal pattern previously described at a national level. Only two of the thirteen previously identified outbreaks were caused by more than one variant/haplotype. Geographical representation of SH variants allowed the identification of several previously undetected clusters, which were analysed phylogenetically by the combination of SH and MF-NCR, in a total of 90 cases. MF-NCR was not able to improve the discrimination of geographical clusters based on SH sequencing, showing limited resolution for outbreak investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Paramyxoviruses)
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18 pages, 1765 KiB  
Article
Infection of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Macrophages by Wild Type and Vaccine Strains of Measles Virus: NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Independent of Virus Production
by San Suwanmanee, Shristi Ghimire, Jerome Edwards and Diane E. Griffin
Viruses 2023, 15(2), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15020260 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2350
Abstract
In humans and non-human primates, wild type (WT) measles virus (MeV) replicates extensively in lymphoid tissue and induces an innate response characteristic of NF-κB and inflammasome activation without type I interferon. In contrast, the live attenuated MeV vaccine (LAMV) replicates poorly in lymphoid [...] Read more.
In humans and non-human primates, wild type (WT) measles virus (MeV) replicates extensively in lymphoid tissue and induces an innate response characteristic of NF-κB and inflammasome activation without type I interferon. In contrast, the live attenuated MeV vaccine (LAMV) replicates poorly in lymphoid tissue with little detectable in vivo cytokine production. To characterize the innate responses of macrophages to WT MeV and LAMV infection, we analyzed primary human monocyte-derived macrophages and phorbol myristic acid-matured monocytic THP-1 cells (M0) polarized to inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotypes 24 h after MeV infection. LAMV infected macrophages more efficiently than WT MeV but produced less virus than WT MeV-infected macrophages. Both strains induced production of NF-κB-responsive cytokines IL-6 and TNFα and inflammasome products IL-1β and IL-18 without evidence of pyroptosis. Analysis of THP-1 cells deficient in inflammasome sensors NOD-like receptor pyrin (NLRP)3, IFN-γ-inducible protein 16 (IFI16) or absent in melanoma (AIM)2; adaptor apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) or effector caspase 1 showed that IL-18 production was dependent on NLRP3, ASC, and caspase 1. However, M1 cells produced IL-1β in the absence of ASC or caspase 1 indicating alternate pathways for MeV-induced pro-IL-1β processing. Therefore, the innate response to in vitro infection of macrophages with both LAMV and WT MeV includes production of IL-6 and TNFα and activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome to release IL-1β and IL-18. LAMV attenuation impairs production of infectious virus but does not reduce ability to infect macrophages or innate responses to infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Paramyxoviruses)
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