Host-Virus Interaction
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 1135
Special Issue Editors
Interests: alphavirus; coronavirus; viral replication; virus-host interaction; viral evolution; deep mutational scanning
Interests: hepatitis B virus; virus disease; molecular virology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Viral infectious diseases continue to pose grave risks to public health. To better respond to emerging and re-emerging viruses, it is crucial to develop a comprehensive understanding of viral life cycles and virus–host interactions. Viruses rely on hijacking host cellular machinery for entry, replication, and propagation, while a host employs diverse defense strategies, including interferon signaling, autophagy, RNA interference, and the deployment of restriction factors to counteract infection. However, viruses have developed evasion strategies, such as escaping recognition from intracellular sensors, inhibiting interferon signaling pathways, manipulating host gene expression, and regulating the autophagy and degradation pathways. This ongoing molecular arms race between viruses and host cells ultimately shapes the outcome of infections. These insights into virus–host interactions enhance our understanding of viral pathogenesis and are essential for the development of effective antiviral strategies, vaccines, and therapeutics.
In this Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, we invite all types of manuscripts, including reviews, research articles, and short communications, focusing on virus–host interactions. Through this collection of articles, we hope that we can advance our knowledge on virus–host interactions so that we have a faster and more effective pandemic response in the future.
This Special Issue is supervised by Dr. Xupeng Hong and Dr. Xiaohui Ju and assisted by our Guest Editor Assistant Dr. Yan Wang (yawang2@utmb.edu, University of Texas Medical Branch).
Dr. Xiaohui Ju
Dr. Xupeng Hong
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- viral entry
- viral replication
- virus assembly and release
- pro-viral factors
- restriction factors
- interferon pathway
- viral immune evasion
- antiviral strategies
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