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Molecular and Cell Biology of Viruses

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 500

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Guest Editor
Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China
Interests: lumpy skin disease virus; cancer; autophagy & apoptosis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viruses, the quintessential cellular parasites, are master manipulators of life's fundamental processes. Their existence is inextricably linked to the host cell, whose machinery they commandeer with remarkable precision to ensure their replication and spread. The study of the Molecular and Cell Biology of Viruses examines the core of this intimate and often antagonistic relationship, seeking to understand the precise mechanisms by which viruses infect, replicate, assemble, and exit cells while simultaneously deciphering the complex defensive and regulatory responses mounted by the host.

This Special Issue aims to capture the dynamism and depth of this field at a pivotal time. We are witnessing an unprecedented convergence of high-resolution structural biology, advanced imaging, omics technologies, and sophisticated cell biological tools. These advances are transforming our view of viral infection from a simple linear pathway to a complex, spatially organized, and dynamically regulated interplay within the cellular environment. We now explore not only what viral proteins do but also how they remodel cellular architecture, form viral replication organelles or biomolecular condensates, and rewire global cellular networks of transcription, translation, metabolism, and signaling.

Dr. Shanhui Ren
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • molecular virology
  • cellular virology
  • virus–host interface
  • intracellular trafficking
  • cellular pathogenesis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2472 KB  
Article
The La Region of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus: Essential for L Protein Cellular Distribution but Not Functional Activity
by Mengting Cai, Hong Yuan, Tao Wang, Yuanfang Fu, Huifang Bao, Pinghua Li, Han Weng, Junfang Zhao, Kun Li, Pu Sun, Xueqing Ma, Zhixun Zhao, Jing Zhang, Yimei Cao, Dong Li, Zengjun Lu and Xingwen Bai
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(6), 2893; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27062893 - 23 Mar 2026
Viewed by 357
Abstract
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly contagious picornavirus that affects cloven-hoofed animals and carries significant economic implications for the global livestock industry. FMDV features two Leader (L) protein isoforms, Lab and Lb, differing at their amino termini by 28 amino acids (La [...] Read more.
Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is a highly contagious picornavirus that affects cloven-hoofed animals and carries significant economic implications for the global livestock industry. FMDV features two Leader (L) protein isoforms, Lab and Lb, differing at their amino termini by 28 amino acids (La region). Currently, the activity of La protein sequences has not been investigated. To address this issue, the comparison study of biological and functional roles of Lab and Lb was performed as the La region alone did not independently perform protein function. We found that Lab and Lb significantly regulated FMDV replication and pathogenicity, and their coexistence afforded optimal FMDV properties. Subsequently, we observed that both L isoforms cleaved eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) I, suppressed type I and type III interferon (IFN) expression, and exhibited marked cytotoxicity, indicating that they were all key components in FMDV’s antagonism of host antiviral defenses. Finally, the subcellular distribution of Lab and Lb was detected. Despite dual localization in cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments, both isoforms displayed different spatial distribution patterns, and Lb induced more pronounced morphological changes to host cells than Lab. Furthermore, bioinformatics predicted that the La region might contain a non-classical secretory signal peptide, potentially facilitating Lab distribution to the cell membrane or extracellular space. Collectively, the primary encoding role of La region was to control the intracellular distribution of L protein, as opposed to regulating its functional activity. This study may help to deepen our understanding of why FMDV encoded two isoforms of L protein. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular and Cell Biology of Viruses)
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