Advances in HSV

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 1280

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology, Vision and Anatomical Sciences (OVAS), Graduate Officer, Anatomy and Cell Biology Graduate Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Interests: herpes simplex virus-1; herpes stromal keratitis
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Guest Editor
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Interests: infectious eye disease

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) infections are quite common in humans. There are two types of HSV: HSV-1 and HSV-2. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 3.8 billion people worldwide under the age of 50 are infected with HSV-1, while an estimated 520 million people worldwide aged 15–49 have contracted HSV-2. HSV is a neurovirulent virus. After infection, HSV-1 and HSV-2 are transported through axons to the neuronal soma in the sensory ganglia, where they can establish lifelong latency. The virus can become reactivated and travel via anterograde axonal transport to peripheral sites, where it can cause the development of painful lesions. HSV-1 is widely known to cause oral lesions, whereas HSV-2 generally spreads via sexual contact and causes genital herpes. In addition to oral infection, HSV-1 can cause ocular herpes, also known as herpes simplex keratitis, a condition that is quite prevalent worldwide. Herpes stromal keratitis (HSK), a type of herpes simplex keratitis, is a major cause of vision loss due to eye infections. Both viruses can also cause neurological complications, with HSV-2 being the primary cause of neonatal herpes encephalitis. Our aim in launching this Special Issue, “Advances in HSV”, is to publish review and research articles on HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections. 

Dr. Susmit Suvas
Prof. Dr. James Chodosh
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • HSV-1
  • HSV-2
  • latency
  • herpes epithelial keratitis
  • herpes stromal keratitis
  • HSV vaccine
  • herpes simplex encephalitis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

29 pages, 10646 KB  
Review
The Triplex-Centric Assembly and Maturation of the Herpesvirus Procapsid
by J. Bernard Heymann
Viruses 2025, 17(9), 1153; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17091153 - 22 Aug 2025
Viewed by 1079
Abstract
Herpesviruses are prevalent infectious agents in humans, with complex structures and life cycles. The viability and detail of a model of capsid assembly and maturation can now be examined against the recently available mature herpesvirus capsids structures. The first large assembly product is [...] Read more.
Herpesviruses are prevalent infectious agents in humans, with complex structures and life cycles. The viability and detail of a model of capsid assembly and maturation can now be examined against the recently available mature herpesvirus capsids structures. The first large assembly product is the icosahedral procapsid with an outer shell composed of major capsid proteins (MCPs) connected by triplexes (heterotrimers composed of one Tri1 protein and two Tri2 proteins), and an inner shell of scaffold proteins. The asymmetric triplexes have specific and conserved orientations, suggesting a key role in assembly. In the mature capsid structures, triplexes bound to three MCPs may represent an assembly unit where, in most cases, the N-terminus of one MCP wraps around the E-loop of another MCP. The model accommodates the incorporation of a portal into capsid, required for genome encapsidation and viral viability. Cleavage of the scaffold triggers maturation of procapsid. Each of the MCPs rotates mostly as a rigid body, except for the flexible peripheral parts that remodel to close the capsid inner surface. Angularization of the capsid shifts the portal outward to a better contact with the capsid shell. Understanding these events in the herpesvirus life cycle to atomic detail could facilitate the development of drugs that uniquely target assembly and maturation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in HSV)
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