Human Cytomegalovirus Therapeutic Strategies and Clinical Applications
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1601
Special Issue Editor
Interests: human cytomegalovirus; cytomegalovirus; infection; molecular virology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common congenital infection worldwide and a major pathogen that impacts morbidity, mortality, and cost of care after transplantation. Perhaps no other virus has such diverse consequences, affecting pregnancies, child health, and transplant outcomes. Despite its critical impact on human health, treatment options for HCMV are limited. The nucleoside analog ganciclovir (GCV) and its oral formulation val-GCV improved outcomes for transplantation, and val-GCV may prevent hearing deterioration in congenitally infected children. However, prolonged courses of therapy result in intolerable toxicities to the bone marrow and selection for resistant viruses. The alternative drugs for GCV-resistant HCMV, foscarnet, and cidofovir, also target the viral DNA polymerase; both are nephrotoxic and can only be administered intravenously. New agents include the terminase inhibitor letermovir, FDA-approved for HCMV prophylaxis after bone marrow transplantation, and the viral UL97 kinase inhibitor, maribavir, approved for refractory HCMV disease in adults and children >12 years. Given the emergence of resistance to all agents, there is a great need for additional treatment options for HCMV, including new therapeutic strategies. In this Special Issue, we will focus on recent advances in therapeutic strategies for HCMV and specific treatment considerations for patients at risk for CMV disease.
Dr. Ravit Arav-Boger
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
- human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)
- congenital infection
- transplantation
- side effects
- resistance
- therapeutic strategies
- combination therapy
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
