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Pathogens
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Human Metapneumovirus Infection
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Human Metapneumovirus Infection

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 21569

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Antonieta Guerrero-Plata

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Interests: viral immunology; innate immunity; respiratory viruses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a clinically relevant single stranded RNA virus that belongs to the genus Metapneumovirus in the new virus family Pneumoviridae. Since its discovery in 2001, HMPV has been identified worldwide and it is considered to be one of the most significant causes of acute respiratory tract infection. The prevalence of HMPV infections is higher in infants and children than in adults. In fact, by the age of 5, almost all children have been exposed to HMPV. However, HMPV can also occur in adults of all ages, although increased severity of the disease is observed in the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Despite the disease’s prevalence, there is no available commercial vaccine or specific treatment against HMPV. Given the extensive impact on human health, further studies are needed that identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for HMPV-induced disease.

For this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of original research and review articles, as well as short communications related to HMPV molecular and epidemiological aspects, virus–host interactions, replication, animal models, innate and adaptive immune response, and vaccine development. We look forward to your contribution.

Prof. Antonieta Guerrero-Plata
Guest Editor

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 2700 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

  • HMPV
  • Human metapneumovirus
  • Molecular mechanisms of infection
  • Virulence factors
  • Innate immunity
  • Adaptive immunity
  • Vaccine
  • Animal models
  • Pathogenesis
  • Pulmonary inflammation

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2209 KiB  
Communication
Human Metapneumovirus Induces Mucin 19 Which Contributes to Viral Pathogenesis
by Kaitlin McBride, Ma. del Rocio Banos-Lara, Nagarjuna R. Cheemarla and Antonieta Guerrero-Plata
Pathogens 2020, 9(9), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9090726 - 03 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2659
Abstract
Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) remains one of the most common viral infections causing acute respiratory tract infections, especially in young children, elderly, and immunocompromised populations. Clinical symptoms can range from mild respiratory symptoms to severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia. The production of mucus is a [...] Read more.
Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) remains one of the most common viral infections causing acute respiratory tract infections, especially in young children, elderly, and immunocompromised populations. Clinical symptoms can range from mild respiratory symptoms to severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia. The production of mucus is a common feature during HMPV infection, but its contribution to HMPV-induced pathogenesis and immune response is largely unknown. Mucins are a major component of mucus and they could have an impact on how the host responds to infections. Using an in vitro system and a mouse model of infection, we identified that Mucin 19 is predominantly expressed in the respiratory tract upon HMPV infection. Moreover, the lack of Muc19 led to an improved disease, lower lung viral titers and a decrease in the number of CD4+ T cells. These data indicate that mucin 19 contributes to the activation of the immune response to HMPV and to HMPV-induced pathogenesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)
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12 pages, 1975 KiB  
Article
Human Metapneumovirus: Etiological Agent of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections in Hospitalized and Deceased Patients with a Negative Diagnosis of Influenza
by Gisela Barrera-Badillo, Beatriz Olivares-Flores, Adriana Ruiz-López, Miguel Ángel Fierro-Valdez, Rosaura Idania Gutiérrez-Vargas and Irma López-Martínez
Pathogens 2020, 9(2), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9020085 - 28 Jan 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2957
Abstract
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is one of the four major viral pathogens associated with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) and creates a substantial burden of disease, particularly in young children (<5 years) and older individuals (≥65 years). The objective of this study was to [...] Read more.
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is one of the four major viral pathogens associated with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) and creates a substantial burden of disease, particularly in young children (<5 years) and older individuals (≥65 years). The objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological behavior of HMPV in Mexico. This retrospective study was conducted over a nine-year period and used 7283 influenza-negative respiratory samples from hospitalized and deceased patients who presented Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). The samples were processed with the help of qualitative multiplex RT-PCR for simultaneous detection of 14 respiratory viruses (xTAG® RVP FAST v2). 40.8% of the samples were positive for respiratory viruses, mainly rhinovirus/enterovirus (47.6%), respiratory syncytial virus (15.9%), HMPV (11.1%) and parainfluenza virus (8.9%). Other respiratory viruses and co-infections accounted for 16.5%. HMPV infects all age groups, but the most affected group was infants between 29 days and 9 years of age (65.6%) and adults who are 40 years and older (25.7%). HMPV circulates every year from November to April, and the highest circulation was observed in late winter. The results of this study aim to raise awareness among clinicians about the high epidemiological impact of HMPV in young children and older individuals in order to reduce the economic burden in terms of health care costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)
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Review

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20 pages, 5666 KiB  
Review
Prospects of and Barriers to the Development of Epitope-Based Vaccines against Human Metapneumovirus
by Ekaterina Stepanova, Victoria Matyushenko, Larisa Rudenko and Irina Isakova-Sivak
Pathogens 2020, 9(6), 481; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9060481 - 18 Jun 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2897
Abstract
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major cause of respiratory illnesses in children, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. Although this pathogen was only discovered in 2001, an enormous amount of research has been conducted in order to develop safe and effective vaccines to prevent [...] Read more.
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a major cause of respiratory illnesses in children, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. Although this pathogen was only discovered in 2001, an enormous amount of research has been conducted in order to develop safe and effective vaccines to prevent people from contracting the disease. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the most promising experimental B- and T-cell epitopes of human metapneumovirus for the rational design of HMPV vaccines using vector delivery systems, paying special attention to the conservation of these epitopes among different lineages/genotypes of HMPV. The prospects of the successful development of an epitope-based HMPV vaccine are discussed in the context of recent findings regarding HMPV’s ability to modulate host immunity. In particular, we discuss the lack of data on experimental human CD4 T-cell epitopes for HMPV despite the role of CD4 lymphocytes in both the induction of higher neutralizing antibody titers and the establishment of CD8 memory T-cell responses. We conclude that current research should be focused on searching for human CD4 T-cell epitopes of HMPV that can help us to design a safe and cross-protective epitope-based HMPV vaccine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)
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30 pages, 1769 KiB  
Review
Engineering of Live Chimeric Vaccines against Human Metapneumovirus
by Daniela Ogonczyk Makowska, Marie-Ève Hamelin and Guy Boivin
Pathogens 2020, 9(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9020135 - 19 Feb 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4708
Abstract
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an important human pathogen that, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a major cause of respiratory tract infections in young infants. Development of an effective vaccine against Pneumoviruses has proven to be particularly difficult; despite over 50 years [...] Read more.
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an important human pathogen that, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a major cause of respiratory tract infections in young infants. Development of an effective vaccine against Pneumoviruses has proven to be particularly difficult; despite over 50 years of research in this field, no vaccine against HMPV or RSV is currently available. Recombinant chimeric viruses expressing antigens of other viruses can be generated by reverse genetics and used for simultaneous immunization against more than one pathogen. This approach can result in the development of promising vaccine candidates against HMPV, and several studies have indeed validated viral vectors expressing HMPV antigens. In this review, we summarize current efforts in generating recombinant chimeric vaccines against HMPV, and we discuss their potential optimization based on the correspondence with RSV studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)
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18 pages, 228 KiB  
Review
HMPV in Immunocompromised Patients: Frequency and Severity in Pediatric Oncology Patients
by Cesar Martinez-Rodriguez and Ma. del Rocio Banos-Lara
Pathogens 2020, 9(1), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9010051 - 10 Jan 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2729
Abstract
Cancer is the first cause of death by disease in childhood globally. The most frequent types of cancers in children and adolescents are leukemias, followed by brain and central nervous system tumors and lymphomas. The recovery rate of cancer in children is around [...] Read more.
Cancer is the first cause of death by disease in childhood globally. The most frequent types of cancers in children and adolescents are leukemias, followed by brain and central nervous system tumors and lymphomas. The recovery rate of cancer in children is around 80% in developed countries and up to 30% in developing countries. Some of the main causes of complications in children and adolescents with cancer are respiratory viral infections, mainly in bone marrow-transplanted patients. Respiratory viruses have been detected in the bronchoalveolar lavage or nasal wash specimens from cancer patients with or without respiratory illness symptoms. Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is within the ten most common viruses that are encountered in samples from pediatric patients with underlying oncology conditions. In most of cases, HMPV is found as the only viral agent, but co-infection with other viruses or with bacterial agents has also been reported. The discrepancies between the most prevalent viral agents may be due to the different populations studied or the range of viral agents tested. Some of the cases of infection with HMPV in cancer patients have been fatal, especially in those who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. This review seeks to show a general view of the participation of HMPV in respiratory illness as a complication of cancer in childhood and adolescence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)

Other

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8 pages, 231 KiB  
Opinion
Human Metapneumovirus: A Largely Unrecognized Threat to Human Health
by Charles J. Russell, Rhiannon R. Penkert, Sonnie Kim and Julia L. Hurwitz
Pathogens 2020, 9(2), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens9020109 - 13 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4158
Abstract
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infects most children by five years of age. The virus can cause both upper and lower respiratory tract disease and can be life threatening. High-risk populations include young children who are exposed to virus for the first time and the [...] Read more.
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infects most children by five years of age. The virus can cause both upper and lower respiratory tract disease and can be life threatening. High-risk populations include young children who are exposed to virus for the first time and the elderly. Currently, there is no standard treatment nor licensed vaccine for HMPV, although several attractive vaccine candidates have been developed for pre-clinical studies. A raised awareness of the impact of HMPV on public health is needed to drive research, complete vaccine development, and thereby prevent significant virus-associated morbidities and mortalities worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Metapneumovirus Infection)
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