Role of Poxvirus in Pathogenesis and Vaccine Protection
A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 377
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As is well-known, the family Poxviridae includes several viruses of medical and veterinary importance. Poxvirus outbreaks in humans are of significant public health concern whereas, in animals, it causes severe economical losses. One poxvirus—variola virus (VARV)—was identified as a causative agent of the deadliest smallpox disease, which has now been irradicated. This was not possible without the discovery of vaccination and evolution of poxviruses as vaccines. A British physician and scientist, Edward Jenner, demonstrated that the cowpox virus (CPXV) that infected cattle could be used to prevent smallpox infections in humans. CPXV and horsepox virus (HSPV) have extensively been used as passages in cattle, rabbits, horses, and humans to vaccinate against smallpox around the world. Finally, the vaccinia virus (VACV) was used in global mass-vaccination campaigns to eradicate smallpox and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared successful eradication of smallpox in 1980.
In animals, orthopoxviruses continue to cause outbreaks in several endemic countries. Different types of vaccines, starting from conventional (inactivated/attenuated) to recombinant protein-based ones, have been used to control these infections in domestic animals. Live attenuated vaccines are highly effective in eliciting long-lasting immunity in capripox, camelpox and fowlpox diseases. Several attenuated strains of poxviruses have been licensed for use in animals as vector vaccines to deliver heterologous immunogens.
It is noteworthy that several poxviruses have been successfully used for developing new-generation vaccines targeting many important pathogens in animals, whereas vaccinia virus and myxoma virus have shown great potential in oncolytic virotherapy in multiple pre-clinical tumor models and some clinical trials for cancer therapy.
To achieve a more extensive and updated understanding of scientific development in the field of poxvirus pathogenesis and vaccine development of human and animal poxvirus infections, this Special Issue is focused on the recent scientific and technical progress made in this field. Based on your extensive knowledge and experience, we invite you to contribute with an original report, novel observation, or comprehensive review to highlight (i) Poxviral vaccines and their thermostabilization, (ii) Poxviruses as gene therapy vectors, (iii) immune pathways after primary infection/vaccination, and (iv) recent advances in poxvirus oncolytic virotherapy.
Dr. Anuj Ahuja
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- poxvirus vaccine
- vectored vaccines
- oncolytic virus
- gene therapy
- immune invasion
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