Special Issue "Antiviral Responses to Herpes Viruses"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Philippe Georgel
Laboratoire d'ImmunoGénétique Moléculaire Humaine, Centre de Recherche en Immunologie et Hématologie, Faculté de Médecine, 4 rue Kirschleger, 67085 Strasbourg, Cedex, France
E-Mail:
Phone: +33 (0) 390 243 995
Fax: +33 (0) 390 244 016
Interests: VSV; MCMV; TLR; nuclear receptors; interferon; innate immunity

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

Submission Information

All papers should be submitted to viruses@mdpi.com. To be published continuously until the deadline and papers will be listed together at the special issue website.

Submitted papers should not have been published nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is a new international, peer-reviewed, quarterly open access journal published by MDPI.

Article Processing Charges (APC) for publication in this Open Access journal are waived for well-prepared manuscripts submitted by 30 June 2010. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• Micro RNA
• latency
• opportunistic infection
• cancer
• transplantation