Construction of an infectious cDNA clone of Tembusu virus isolated from breeder Peking ducks

正Dear Editor,Since April 2010,an outbreak of a new disease has elicited symptoms of high fever,loss of appetite,and reduction in egg production in layer ducks in eastern China;this phenomenon has now spread throughout China(Cao et al.,2011;Su et al.,2011).The causative agent of the disease was identified as Tembusu virus(TMUV),which was classified into the genus Flavivirus,     

Recombinant canarypox virus expressing the VP2 protein of infectious bursal disease virus induces protection in vaccinated SPF chickens

正Dear Editor,Infectious bursal disease virus(IBDV)causes infectious bursal disease,a highly contagious immunosuppressive disease that affects young chickens and causes economic losses in the poultry industry worldwide.IBDV replicates mainly in actively dividing B lymphocytes within the bursa of Fabricius(BF),leading to immunosuppression in affected flocks(Mahgoub et al.,2012).Viral protein 2(VP2),the only structural component of the IBDV     

Isolation and phylogenetic study of Rift Valley fever virus from the first imported case to China

<正>Dear Editor,Rift Valley fever(RVF)is an anthropozoonosis caused by Rift Valley fever virus(RVFV).RVFV belongs to the Phlebovirus genus in the family Bunyaviridae,which is circulating among ruminants.Human infection with RVFV is generally asymptomatic,however,minority of patients develop severe RVF diseases like encephalitis or     

Retromer localizes to autophagosomes during HCV replication

<正>Dear Editor,Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is a positive-strand RNA virus that belongs to the genus Hepacivirus within the Flaviviridae family.HCV causes chronic liver diseases,and185 million people are infected(Messina et al.,2015).Currently,there is no approved vaccine to prevent hepatitis C.HCV induces autophagy through elevating reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels via the unfolded     

Molecular typing of non-polio enteroviruses isolated from acute flaccid paralysis cases in Iran from 2010 to 2015

<正>Dear Editor,Acute flaccid paralysis(AFP)is a complex syndrome often caused by polioviruses.While most countries have eradicated wild polioviruses by vaccination,AFP still remains a health problem in these countries.Most studies have highlighted non-polio enteroviruses(NPEVs)as     

Antigenicity of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus nucleocapsid protein and its potential application in the virus serodiagnosis

<正>Dear Editor,Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus(SFTSV)is a newly identified viral pathogen of the genus Phlebovirus in the family Bunyaviridae(Sun et al.,2012).SFTSV was first identified from patient serum samples in China(Li et al.,2013;Ning et al.,2015).SFTSV can cause a severe hemorrhagic fever-like disease with a reported case fatality rate ranging from 2.5%     

CD95-CD95L interaction mediates the growth control of MHV68 immortalized B cells by cytotoxic T cells

<正>Dear Editor,The main limitation of the viral pathogenesis study of human gammaherpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus(KSHV)is the absence of animal model owing to the narrow host tropism of both EBV and KSHV.Murine gammaherpesvirus 68(MHV68)encodes several genes involved in     

Interplay between hepatitis C virus and ARF4

<正>Dear Editor,Hepatitis C virus(HCV)is a major cause of chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)with about71 million people globally infected.HCV encodes only10 viral proteins and its replication relies on host proteins.Many host factors including ADP-ribosylation factors     

Recent advances in synthetic carbohydrate-based human immunodeficiency virus vaccines

An effective vaccine for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is urgently needed to prevent HIV infection and progression to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). As glycosylation of viral proteins becomes better understood, carbohydrate-based antiviral vaccines against special viruses have attracted much attention. Significant efforts in carbohydrate synthesis and immunogenicity research have resulted in the development of multiple carbohydrate-based HIV vaccines. This review summarizes recent advances in synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccines design strategies and the applications of these vaccines in the prevention of HIV.

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Hantavirus infection: a global zoonotic challenge

Hantaviruses are comprised of tri-segmented negative sense single-stranded RNA, and are members of the Bunyaviridae family. Hantaviruses are distributed worldwide and are important zoonotic pathogens that can have severe adverse effects in humans. They are naturally maintained in specific reservoir hosts without inducing symptomatic infection. In humans, however, hantaviruses often cause two acute febrile diseases, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). In this paper, we review the epidemiology and epizootiology of hantavirus infections worldwide.

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Lipids,lipid metabolism and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus pathogenesis

Lipids are essential for mammalian cells to maintain many physiological functions. Emerging evidence has shown that cancer cells can develop specific alterations in lipid biosynthesis and metabolism to facilitate their survival and various malignant behaviors. To date, the precise role of cellular lipids and lipid metabolism in viral oncogenesis is still largely unclear with only a handful of literature covering this topic to implicate lipid metabolism in oncogenic virus associated pathogenesis. In this review, we focus on the role of lipid biosynthesis and metabolism in the pathogenesis of the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, a common causative factor for cancers arising in the immunocompromised settings.

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Recent advances in the identification of the host factors involved in dengue virus replication

Dengue virus (DENV) belongs to the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae and it is primarily transmitted via Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The life cycle of DENV includes attachment, endocytosis, protein translation, RNA synthesis, assembly, egress, and maturation. Recent researches have indicated that a variety of host factors, including cellular proteins and microRNAs, positively or negatively regulate the DENV replication process. This review summarizes the latest findings (from 2014 to 2016) in the identification of the host factors involved in the DENV life cycle and Dengue infection.

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Recent advances in the study of hepatitis B virus covalently closed circular DNA

Chronic hepatitis B infection is caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and a total cure is yet to be achieved. The viral covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is the key to establish a persistent infection within hepatocytes. Current antiviral strategies have no effect on the pre-existing cccDNA reservoir. Therefore, the study of the molecular mechanism of cccDNA formation is becoming a major focus of HBV research. This review summarizes the current advances in cccDNA molecular biology and the latest studies on the elimination or inactivation of cccDNA, including three major areas: (1) epigenetic regulation of cccDNA by HBV X protein, (2) immune-mediated degradation, and (3) genome-editing nucleases. All these aspects provide clues on how to finally attain a cure for chronic hepatitis B infection.

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Hepatitis C virus-induced prion protein expression facilitates hepatitis C virus replication

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects approximately 180 million people worldwide. Significant progress has been made since the establishment of in vitro HCV infection models in cells. However, the replication of HCV is complex and not completely understood. Here, we found that the expression of host prion protein (PrP) was induced in an HCV replication cell model. We then showed that increased PrP expression facilitated HCV genomic replication. Finally, we demonstrated that the KKRPK motif on the N-terminus of PrP bound nucleic acids and facilitated HCV genomic replication. Our results provided important insights into how viruses may harness cellular protein to achieve propagation.

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Herpesviruses: epidemiology,pathogenesis, and interventions

<正>This special issue of the journal is dedicated to the recent research progress on human herpesviruses(HHVs).Human herpesviruses are distributed worldwide,and more than 90%of adults are infected by one or multiple HHVs.The HHV family contains three sub-families:the alpha sub-family[herpes simplex virus 1(HSV-1),HSV-2,     

Identification of a novel torque teno mini virus in cerebrospinal fluid from a child with encephalitis

<正>Dear Editor,Anelloviruses,which are all single-strand circular DNA viruses,have extremely heterogeneous genetic features.To date,the family Anelloviridae is divided into 11genus,and the most dominated species include torque teno virus(TTV),torque teno mini virus(TTMV)and     

Progress towards understanding the pathogenesis of dengue hemorrhagic fever

Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-borne virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family. There are 4 serotypes of DENV that cause human disease through transmission by mosquito vectors. DENV infection results in a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms, ranging from mild fever to dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), the latter of which can progress to dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and death. Researchers have made unremitting efforts over the last half-century to understand DHF pathogenesis. DHF is probably caused by multiple factors, such as virus-specific antibodies, viral antigens and host immune responses. This review summarizes the current progress of studies on DHF pathogenesis, which may provide important information for achieving effective control of dengue in the future.

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Extracellular vesicles: novel vehicles in herpesvirus infection

Herpesviruses are remarkable pathogens that have evolved multiple mechanisms to evade host immunity, ensuring their proliferation and egress. Among these mechanisms, herpesviruses utilize elaborate extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, for the intricate interplay between infected host and recipient cells. Herpesviruses incorporate genome expression products and direct cellular products into exosomal cargoes. These components alter the content and function of exosomes released from donor cells, thus affecting the downstream signalings of recipient cells. In this way, herpesviruses hijack exosomal pathways to ensure their survival and persistence, and exosomes are emerging as critical mediators for virus infection-associated intercellular communication and microenvironment alteration. In this review, the function and effects of exosomes in herpesvirus infection will be discussed, so that we will have a better understanding about the pathogenesis of herpesviruses.

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