Antiviral Responses to Herpes Viruses
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2009) | Viewed by 176334
Special Issue Editor
Interests: VSV; MCMV; TLR; nuclear receptors; interferon; innate immunity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Herpes viruses are usually ubiquitous pathogens which are responsible for only asymptomatic or benign infections in immunocompetent hosts. However, such pathogens may also induce dramatic outcome in fragile, immunocompromised recipients such as transplanted patients. Recently, this family of viruses has been the subject of intense attention because their large DNA genome has been shown to encode microRNAs whose functions are now intensely debated. These non-coding small RNAs , which are considered major regulators of gene expression, represent a novel type of pathogenicity factor which may explain some of the characteristics of Herpesviridae, such as the establishment of latency and their transformation potential.
This special issue of “viruses” will focus on several aspects of Herpes viruses. Some articles will focus on the immune defense elicited in humans or mice to eradicate natural or experimental infections, whereas others will report investigations of escape mechanisms selected by pathogens to avoid innate or adaptive antiviral strategies. Finally, papers describing approaches designed to identify genes of both the host and the pathogen will illuminate the power of genetic studies to unravel their complex interactions. We expect this combination of complementary studies will translate into novel tools for future vaccine and therapeutic developments.
Prof. Dr. Philippe Georgel
Guest Editor
Keywords
- Micro RNA
- latency
- opportunistic infection
- cancer
- transplantation