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Pathogens
Special Issues
Virus–Host Cell Interactions and Research of New Antivirals
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Virus–Host Cell Interactions and Research of New Antivirals

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 2088

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ligia Carla Faccin-Galhardi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Virologia Básica e Aplicada, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina 86057-970, Paraná, Brazil
Interests: viral replication; mechanism of action; research and innovation
Dr. Sueli F. Yamada-Ogatta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Microorganisms, Department of Microbiology, State University of Londrina, Londrina, Brazil
Interests: antimicrobial activity; antibiofilm activity; virulence; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cybele Carina García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Virologia, Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interests: medicinal chemistry; natural products; antivirals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viral infections pose a constant threat to global health security, whether due to their wide distribution, ease of transmission, and difficult control strategies, associated with the resistance demonstrated by certain viral strains. The restricted number of viruses and, consequently, of viral diseases controlled/treatable by antivirals is notorious. The difficulty in research and development of new antiviral molecules comes up against the specific characteristics of viruses with an extremely simple structure and intracellular replication, making selectivity in infected cells difficult, in addition to dependence on the host's response. In addition to these factors, there are laboratory limitations for handling viruses in in vitro and in vivo models. Understanding the mechanisms of virus–host cell interaction and strategies to control viral infections, aiming at the development of new molecules and/or antivirals, is extremely important. Thus, review manuscripts and research articles encompassing the proposed topics are very welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Ligia Carla Faccin-Galhardi
Dr. Sueli F. Yamada-Ogatta
Dr. Cybele Carina García
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. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virus infection
  • stages of viral replication
  • virulence
  • virus–host relationship
  • medicinal chemistry
  • natural products
  • antivirals
  • mechanism of action
  • research and innovation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1234 KiB  
Article
Antiviral Effect of Erdosteine in Cells Infected with Human Respiratory Viruses
by Pierachille Santus, Sergio Strizzi, Fiammetta Danzo, Mara Biasin, Irma Saulle, Claudia Vanetti, Marina Saad, Dejan Radovanovic and Daria Trabattoni
Pathogens 2025, 14(4), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14040388 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 261
Abstract
Respiratory viral infections trigger immune and inflammatory responses that can be associated with excessive oxidative stress, glutathione (GSH) depletion, and a cytokine storm that drives virus-induced cell/tissue damage and severe disease. Erdosteine is a thiol-based drug with proven mucolytic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial [...] Read more.
Respiratory viral infections trigger immune and inflammatory responses that can be associated with excessive oxidative stress, glutathione (GSH) depletion, and a cytokine storm that drives virus-induced cell/tissue damage and severe disease. Erdosteine is a thiol-based drug with proven mucolytic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, but less is known about its antiviral effects. We performed in vitro studies to investigate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity of erdosteine in A549-hACE2 human lung epithelial cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and in Caco-2 human colon carcinoma cells infected with influenza A virus (H1N1). The cells were treated with different concentrations of erdosteine or its active metabolite 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MET-1) before and after viral infection. The viral replication/load in the cell culture supernatants was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assay and digital droplet PCR. The gene expression of innate immune response signaling pathways and oxidative stress was analyzed by reverse transcription PCR custom-array. The results showed that erdosteine and its active metabolite, at concentrations consistent with an approved therapeutic human dosage, were not directly cytotoxic and had significant antiviral effects in cells pre-infected with SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and H1N1. The transcriptome analysis showed that erdosteine activated innate immune responses by stimulating overexpression of type I interferon and inflammasome pathways and modulated oxidative stress by inducing the modulation of oxidative stress and GSH pathways. These findings suggest that erdosteine may be a useful treatment for respiratory viral infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus–Host Cell Interactions and Research of New Antivirals)
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15 pages, 3034 KiB  
Article
CRISPR/Cas9 Eye Drop HSV-1 Treatment Reduces Brain Viral Load: A Novel Application to Prevent Neuronal Damage
by Rafaela Moraes Pereira de Sousa, Luiza Silveira Garcia, Felipe Simões Lemos, Viviane Souza de Campos, Erik Machado Ferreira, Nathália Alves Araujo de Almeida, Tatiana Maron-Gutierrez, Elen Mello de Souza and Vanessa Salete de Paula
Pathogens 2024, 13(12), 1087; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13121087 - 10 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1259
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) can invade the central nervous system (CNS). However, antiviral drugs used to treat HSV-1 have significant toxicity and resistance. An alternative approach involves the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 complex as a viral replication inhibitor. Editing the UL39 gene with [...] Read more.
Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) can invade the central nervous system (CNS). However, antiviral drugs used to treat HSV-1 have significant toxicity and resistance. An alternative approach involves the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 complex as a viral replication inhibitor. Editing the UL39 gene with CRISPR/Cas9 results in >95% inhibition of HSV-1 replication in vitro; however, few studies have investigated alternative therapies in in vivo models. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of CRISPR/Cas9 targeting the UL39 region, which was administered via the ocular route, to reduce the HSV-1 viral count in the CNS of BALB/c mice. Mice were inoculated with HSV-1 and treated using CRISPR/Cas9. The kinetics of CNS infection were assessed, and the effects of CRISPR/Cas9 were compared with those of topical acyclovir treatments. The brain viral load was analyzed, and histopathology and immunofluorescence of the nervous tissue were performed. The group treated with CRISPR/Cas9 showed a reduced viral load on the seventh day post-infection, and no brain inflammation or chromatin compaction was observed in animals that received CRISPR/Cas9 therapy. These findings suggest that CRISPR/Cas9 anti-UL39 therapy can reduce the HSV-1 viral load in brain tissue. Therefore, investigating viral detection and evaluating antiviral treatments in the brain is essential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virus–Host Cell Interactions and Research of New Antivirals)
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