HIV Accessory Proteins
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: spin-labeling; electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR); molecular motion; conformational sampling; HIV-1 protease; drug-pressure selected mutations; natural polymorphisms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Viruses, such as HIV and other lentiviruses, encode for proteins termed “accessory proteins” that, while not required for in vitro cell culture, allow for in vivo pathogenesis by allowing lentiviruses to evade innate cellular immune responses. Although decades of research into HIV-1 proteins Nef, Vif, Vpu, Vpr, and Vpx has shed light on how each of these proteins modulates host cellular functions to facilitate viral pathogenicity, research into understanding the mechanisms of interaction of accessory proteins with host systems continues. In addition, insights gleaned from these vast studies find applicability in mechanisms of evasion of host innate immunity against other viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16).
For example, recent studies of Vpu from HIV-1 and ORF3a from SARS-CoV-2 revealed how accessory proteins from these viruses were able to exploit the activation of the stimulator of the interferon genes (STING) pathway, blocking nuclear factor κB (NK-κB) signaling, possibly suggesting the STING pathway as a promising new antiviral strategy (Rui et al, 2025; DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.add6593).
For this Special Issue, we invite the submission of original research and review articles that investigate cellular interactions of accessory proteins, with special emphasis on emergent targets for methods of rational drug design, roles of accessory proteins in liquid–liquid phase separations/molecular condensate, or advances in our understanding of molecular machinery exploited by accessory proteins from HIV. Also welcome are articles that identify novel accessory proteins from other viruses of high importance.
Prof. Dr. Gail E. Fanucci
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- accessory proteins
- cellular interactions
- drug design
- liquid–liquid phase separations
- molecular condensate
- HIV
- novel accessory proteins from other viruses
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