Host Defense, Viruses and Cell Death Pathways
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 437
Special Issue Editor
Interests: viruses–human host cell interactions and pathogenicity; host cell defenses to infection (cell death, autophagy, stresses, and innate immunity)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Over the last few decades, marked by the coronavirus, HIV, and Dengue pandemics, among others, despite rapid advances in our knowledge of host–virus interactions and host defense mechanisms, viruses have continued to threaten global health. The scientific community is working hard to identify ways of limiting the spread of emerging viruses and develop antiviral treatments and vaccines. Therefore, it is increasingly important to better understand cell-level host responses and their manipulation by viruses in order to consider the best control strategies. Among these responses, cell suicide is a common pathway chosen by infected cells: indeed, apoptosis and other forms of cell death, such as programmed necrosis and pyroptosis, serve to limit pathogen replication in infected cells, simultaneously promoting the inflammatory and innate responses which shape effective long-term host immunity. Viruses have developed multiple strategies to modify cell death pathways to their advantage, not always by limiting them. The complete resolution of infection, disease pathogenesis and progression, and the possible persistence of viruses are largely due to the latter’s ability to deal with cell death pathways. At the same time, the discovery that viruses have a tropism influenced by the cellular metabolism and, therefore, a liking for tumor cells makes them oncolytic tools capable of inducing targeted cell death.
This Special Issue will present original research papers and review articles that provide an overview of the latest findings on host defense mechanisms to viral infections involving cell death. Understanding the viral control of cell fate remains a highly topical subject, providing inspiration for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Particular attention will be given to studies identifying the fine-tuning mechanisms by which viruses or viral factors can induce targeted cell death and those enhancing our understanding of certain viruses’ potential to become therapeutic weapons.
Dr. Pascale Krejbich-Trotot
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. Viruses 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 2600 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–host
- programmed cell death
- apoptosis
- necroptosis
- pyroptosis
- viral factors and cell death effector interplay
- oncolytic
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