You're using an outdated browser. Please upgrade to a modern browser for the best experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
RNA Capping Functions during Infection
RNAs with methylated cap structures are present throughout multiple domains of life. Given that cap structures play a myriad of important roles beyond translation, such as stability and immune recognition, it is not surprising that viruses have adopted RNA capping processes for their own benefit throughout co-evolution with their hosts. In fact, that RNAs are capped was first discovered in a member of the Spinareovirinae family, Cypovirus, before these findings were translated to other domains of life.
  • 1.0K
  • 12 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Oncolytic Virus Therapy for PDAC
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating malignancy with poor prognosis and a dismal survival rate, expected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Oncolytic virus (OV) is an anticancer approach that utilizes replication-competent viruses to preferentially infect and kill tumor cells. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), one such OV, is already in several phase I clinical trials against different malignancies. VSV-based recombinant viruses are effective OVs against a majority of tested PDAC cell lines. 
  • 1.0K
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Polysaccharide Vaccines and Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Polysaccharides are often the most abundant antigens found on the extracellular surfaces of bacterial cells. These polysaccharides play key roles in interactions with the outside world, and for many bacterial pathogens, they represent what is presented to the human immune system. As a result, many vaccines have been or currently are being developed against carbohydrate antigens. In this review, we explore the diversity of capsular polysaccharides (CPS) in Salmonella and other selected bacterial species and explain the classification and function of CPS as vaccine antigens. Despite many vaccines being developed using carbohydrate antigens, the low immunogenicity and the diversity of infecting strains and serovars present an antigen formulation challenge to manufacturers. Vaccines tend to focus on common serovars or have changing formulations over time, reflecting the trends in human infection, which can be costly and time-consuming. We summarize the approaches to generate carbohydrate-based vaccines for Salmonella, describe vaccines that are in development and emphasize the need for an effective vaccine against non-typhoidal Salmonella strains.
  • 1.0K
  • 12 Oct 2021
Topic Review
COVID-19 Infection on Pregnancy Maternal and Fetal Health
When compared with uninfected mothers, pregnant women with a COVID-19 infection are at a higher risk for maternal mortality. With the additional difficulties of the COVID-19 infection, pregnant persons also have higher hospitalization and ICU admission rates, increased risk of requiring ventilation, and elevated mortality rate than non-pregnant women who are infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 surveillance system.
  • 1.0K
  • 31 May 2023
Topic Review
ACE2 Expression and COVID-19 Infection
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an unprecedented threat to the international community and raised major concerns in terms of public health safety. Although our current understanding of the complexity of COVID-19 pathogenesis remains limited, the infection is largely mediated by the interaction of viral spike protein and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The functional importance of ACE2 in different demographic and comorbid conditions may explain the significant variation in incidence and mortality of COVID-19 in vulnerable groups, and highlights its candidacy as a potential therapeutic target.
  • 1.0K
  • 05 May 2021
Topic Review
HPV E5, E6 and E7 in Apoptosis Evasion
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) infect the dividing cells of human epithelia and hijack the cellular replication machinery to ensure their own propagation. In the effort to adapt the cell to suit their own reproductive needs, the virus changes a number of processes, amongst which is the ability of the cell to undergo programmed cell death. Viral infections, forced cell divisions and mutations, which accumulate as a result of uncontrolled proliferation, all trigger one of several cell death pathways. The mechanisms employed by HPVs is examined to ensure the survival of infected cells manipulated into cell cycle progression and proliferation.
  • 1.0K
  • 20 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Virus Infection and Systemic Inflammation: COVID-19 and Beyond
Respiratory infections with newly emerging zoonotic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19, often lead to the perturbation of the human innate and adaptive immune responses causing severe disease with high mortality. The responsible mechanisms are commonly virus-specific and often include either over-activated or delayed local interferon responses, which facilitate efficient viral replication in the primary target organ, systemic viral spread, and rapid onset of organ-specific and harmful inflammatory responses. Despite the distinct replication strategies, human infections with SARS-CoV-2 and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses demonstrate remarkable similarities and differences regarding the mechanisms of immune induction, disease dynamics, as well as the long-term sequelae.
  • 1.0K
  • 05 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Monkeypox
In 1958, several monkeys in a Copenhagen laboratory developed a skin rash from which an orthopoxvirus could be isolated, which was named monkeypox virus (MPXV). However, the natural animal reservoir for MPXV is thought to be a rodent. The first human case occurred in 1970, and the incidence has increased progressively throughout the years. 
  • 1.0K
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus–Host Protein Interactions
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a disease with a high incidence due to sow miscarriage, stillbirth, and piglet respiratory tract infections. PRRS is caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). The disease was first reported in the United States in 1987 and then spread worldwide. China reported the first case of PRRS in 1996. In 2006, there was an outbreak of a “high fever symptom” caused by a mutant PRRSV with a 30-amino-acid deletion in the nonstructural protein (NSP) 2. PRRSV continues to mutate, and a series of new PRRSV mutant strains such as the NADC30-like strain have appeared in recent years, making the prevention and control of the disease increasingly difficult. PRRSV continues to recombine and mutant, and since PRRSV has the antibody-dependent enhancement effect, the development of effective vaccines against PRRS is not as good as expected.
  • 1.0K
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Human Papilloma Virus and Associated Malignancies
HPV, or Human Papilloma Virus, has been the primary causative agent of genital warts and cervical cancer worldwide. It is a sexually transmitted infection mainly affecting women of reproductive age group, also infecting men and high-risk group individuals globally, resulting in high mortality.
  • 1.0K
  • 25 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Variability of H1N1pdm09 Influenza Viruses
The influenza virus is a worldwide disease that affects up to 5–15% of the global population. The mortality from influenza-associated respiratory disease is estimated to be more than half a million each year, and that number significantly increases when a new strain emerges to cause a pandemic. The influenza virus has a high mutation rate, which is the basis for the evolutionary variability of the influenza virus. One cycle of virus replication may lead to a new strain with significant changes in its viral biocharacteristics and pathogenicity.
  • 1.0K
  • 17 Mar 2022
Topic Review
KSHV
Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), or human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), is an oncogenic γ-herpesvirus which is the etiological agent of the most prevalent AIDS-related malignancy, Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). KSHV is also the causative agent of two lymphoproliferative disorders, the rare Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome (KICS) can also be attributed to KSHV infection.
  • 1.0K
  • 26 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Newly Emerged Antiviral Strategies for SARS-CoV-2
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become the most severe health crisis, causing extraordinary economic disruption worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded RNA-enveloped virus. The process of viral replication and particle packaging is finished in host cells. Viral proteins, including both structural and nonstructural proteins, play important roles in the viral life cycle, which also provides the targets of treatment. Therefore, a better understanding of the structural function of virus proteins is crucial to speed up the development of vaccines and therapeutic strategies. The structure-function correlation of viral proteins provides a fundamental rationale for vaccine development and targeted therapy. 
  • 999
  • 02 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Entrectinib—An Inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Cell Entry
This entry describes entrectinib as an antiviral drug.
  • 998
  • 20 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Polydatin/Resveratrol interference in ACE2:Spike recognition
In the search for new therapeutic strategies to contrast SARS-CoV-2, we here studied the interaction of polydatin (PD) and resveratrol (RESV)—two natural stilbene polyphenols with manifold, well known biological activities—with Spike, the viral protein essential for virus entry into host cells, and ACE2, the angiotensin-converting enzyme present on the surface of multiple cell types (including respiratory epithelial cells) which is the main host receptor for Spike binding. Molecular Docking simulations evidenced that both compounds can bind Spike, ACE2 and the ACE2:Spike complex with good affinity, although the interaction of PD appears stronger than that of RESV on all the investigated targets. Preliminary biochemical assays revealed a significant inhibitory activity of the ACE2:Spike recognition with a dose-response effect only in the case of PD. 
  • 997
  • 09 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Virus
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) of ruminants is a viral pathology that has significant welfare, social, and economic implications. The causative agent, epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), belongs to the Orbivirus genus and leads to significant regional disease outbreaks among livestock and wildlife in North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, causing significant morbidity and mortality.
  • 996
  • 23 May 2023
Topic Review
Function of the PRRSV–Host Interactions
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) affects the global swine industry and causes disastrous economic losses each year. The genome of PRRSV is an enveloped single-stranded positive-sense RNA of approximately 15 kb. The PRRSV replicates primarily in alveolar macrophages of pig lungs and lymphatic organs and causes reproductive problems in sows and respiratory symptoms in piglets. To date, studies on how PRRSV survives in the host, the host immune response against viral infections, and pathogenesis, have been reported. PRRSV vaccines have been developed, including inactive virus, modified live virus, attenuated live vaccine, DNA vaccine, and immune adjuvant vaccines. However, there are certain problems with the durability and effectiveness of the licensed vaccines. Moreover, the high variability and fast-evolving populations of this RNA virus challenge the design of PRRSV vaccines, and thus effective vaccines against PRRSV have not been developed successfully. As is well known, viruses interact with the host to escape the host’s immune response and then replicate and propagate in the host, which is the key to virus survival.
  • 991
  • 16 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Contribution of Epstein–Barr Virus to Cancer Hallmarks
The concept of ‘hallmarks of cancer’ was first introduced by Hanahan and Weinberg in 2000 and represented the cellular traits through which different cancers acquire the capabilities to survive, proliferate and disseminate. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), the first recognized human oncogenic virus in history, is one of the environmental factors that can drive oncogenesis of several lymphoid and epithelial malignancies through various hallmarks of cancer. This entry summarizes the contribution of EBV lytic proteins to cancer hallmarks and provide a framework to address the complexity of EBV-driven oncogenesis.
  • 991
  • 10 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Adeno-Associated Viruses
Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are a convenient tool for gene therapy delivery. According to the current classification, they are divided into the species AAV A and AAV B within the genus Dependoparvovirus. Historically AAVs were also subdivided on the intraspecies level into 13 serotypes, which differ in tissue tropism and targeted gene delivery capacity. Serotype, however, is not a universal taxonomic category, and their assignment is not always robust. Cross-reactivity has been shown, indicating that classification could not rely on the results of serological tests alone. Moreover, since the isolation of AAV4, all subsequent AAVs were subdivided into serotypes based primarily on genetic differences and phylogenetic reconstructions.
  • 990
  • 23 May 2022
Topic Review
Gut Virome in Childhood Diseases
Mammals are colonized by numerous microbes, collectively referred to as the microbiota. The microbiota forms a stable symbiotic relationship with the host and is indispensable for health maintenance. Although the eubacteria are the best characterized component of the human gut microbiota, it also includes commensal populations of viruses, fungi, multicellular parasites and archaea. Evidence highlights that the virome, consisting in DNA and RNA eukaryotic viruses, bacterial viruses (i.e., bacteriophages) and archaeal viruses, exerts a fundamental role in the host wellbeing. Indeed, alterations of the adult virome have been linked to increased disease susceptibility, suggesting that maintaining or restoring a structurally and functionally correct composition of the virome might represent in the near future a promising approach to prevent or cure different human diseases. Although the knowledge of childhood virome is currently very limited, modifications of the virome composition have been associated with several diseases during the pediatric age, such as inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes, malnutrition, diarrhea and celiac disease. 
  • 988
  • 14 May 2021
  • Page
  • of
  • 26
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Academic Video Service
Feedback