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Topic Review
Hepatitis B reactivation
Hepatitis B reactivation is a common complication in lymphoma patients under immunosuppressive treatment with potentially serious and life-threating consequences. 
  • 931
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
Antiviral Properties of Algal Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides are a group of either similar or different saccharides that are connected with glycosidic bonds. These polysaccharide molecules inhibit viral replication by interfering in any stage of the viral life cycle, which generally takes place in phases such as the adsorption of the virus by the host cells, penetration into the host cell, uncoating of capsids, assembly and release of viral particles, or via inactivating virions before infection. The life cycle of viruses varies from species to species; thus, the action mechanisms of the algal polysaccharides also varies with the nature of the virus species.
  • 930
  • 17 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Phages for Africa
Livestock farming is vital to Sub Saharan Africa for food supply, source of employment, and income. However, antibiotic use in livestock farming is rampant leading to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Because of this rise in antibiotic resistance, there is a growing need to find alternatives to antibiotics in the preventio, treatment and control of bacterial infections in livestock.An alternative that is going through a renaissance is the use of bacteriophages (phages), viruses that infect and kill bacteria, which have been used and administered as pharmaceutical agents even before the discovery of antibiotics. Phages are the most abundant and ubiquitous organisms on earth, and can be found in natural and man-made environments, especially those in which their bacterial host thrives. Phage therapy has therefore been proposed as one of the most promising alternatives for the treatment of infections in livestock contributing towards mitigation of antimicrobial resistance. 
  • 929
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Strategies of Immune Evasion by SARS-CoV-2
There are at least seven reported strategies, which are utilized by SARS-CoV-2 for immune evasion: 1. Spike camouflage employs glycan molecules (epitope masking). 2. Differential impairment of MHC-I-mediated antigen presentation by SARS-CoV-2 variants. 3. SARS-CoV-2-driven inhibition of the interferon synthesis. 4. SARS-CoV-2 induces incomplete mitophagy to avoid apoptosis of some infected cells and to increase virus replication. 5. Cell–cell infection and immune evasion through cytoplasmic nanotubes. 6. Cell–cell infection and lymphocyte cell death through syncytia formation. 7. Immune evasion through exosome release.
  • 929
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Hepatitis E Virus and Host-Cell
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the major causes of acute, self-limiting viral hepatitis (AVH) which is now recognized as a global health problem in both developing and industrialized regions. According to WHO estimates in 2015, annually 20 million HEV infections cause 3.3 million symptomatic cases and account for 3.3% of the mortality due to viral hepatitis. The feco-oral route transmission of HEV through contaminated drinking water is attributed to large-scale epidemics in developing countries while zoonotic transmission through the consumption of undercooked meat, blood transfusions, and organ transplantation are considered as major sources of HEV infections in developed nations.
  • 924
  • 10 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Parvovirus-Based Combinatorial Cancer Immunotherapy
Resistance to anticancer treatments poses continuing challenges to oncology researchers and clinicians. The underlying mechanisms are complex and multifactorial. However, the immunologically “cold” tumor microenvironment (TME) has recently emerged as one of the critical players in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance. Therefore, TME modulation through induction of an immunological switch towards inflammation (“warming up”) is among the leading approaches in modern oncology. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are seen today not merely as tumor cell-killing (oncolytic) agents, but also as cancer therapeutics with multimodal antitumor action. Due to their intrinsic or engineered capacity for overcoming immune escape mechanisms, warming up the TME and promoting antitumor immune responses, OVs hold the potential for creating a proinflammatory background, which may in turn facilitate the action of other (immunomodulating) drugs. This review deals with the smallest among all OVs, the H-1 parvovirus (H-1PV), and focuses on H-1PV-based combinatorial approaches, whose efficiency has been proven in preclinical and/or clinical settings. Special focus is given to cancer types with most devastating impact on life expectancy that urgently call for novel therapies.
  • 923
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Spumaretrovirus Assembly
Within the family of Retroviridae, foamy viruses (FVs) are unique and unconventional with respect to many aspects in their molecular biology, including assembly and release of enveloped viral particles. Both components of the minimal assembly and release machinery, Gag and Env, display significant differences in their molecular structures and functions compared to the other retroviruses. 
  • 919
  • 27 Jan 2021
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 and Brain
The second year of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic has seen the need to identify and assess the long-term consequences of a SARS-CoV-2 infection on an individual’s overall wellbeing, including adequate cognitive functioning. ‘Cognitive COVID’ is an informal term coined to interchangeably refer to acute changes in cognition during COVID-19 and/or cognitive sequelae with various deficits following the infection. These may manifest as altered levels of consciousness, encephalopathy-like symptoms, delirium, and loss of various memory domains. Dysexecutive syndrome is a peculiar manifestation of ‘Cognitive COVID’ as well.
  • 918
  • 12 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Antibodies against EEEV or WEEV
The three encephalitic alphaviruses, namely, the Venezuelan, eastern, and western equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV, EEEV, and WEEV), are classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as biothreat agents.
  • 916
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Host Cell Signatures within Beta-Herpes Virions
Beta-herpesviruses infect a large proportion of the human population and are associated with a variety of pathophysiological conditions. They are DNA viruses with a large genome that encodes a relatively large number of gene products for the construction of new viral progeny and the establishment of a complex series of interactions with infected cells.
  • 915
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Influenza A and COVID-19
Influenza is a highly known contagious viral infection that has been responsible for the death of many people in history with pandemics. These pandemics have been occurring every 10 to 30 years in the last century. The most recent global pandemic prior to COVID-19 was the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. A decade ago, the H1N1 virus caused 12,500 deaths in just 19 months globally. Now, again, the world has been challenged with another pandemic. COVID-19 and influenza viruses have very similar signs, and symptoms may explain the similar origin. According to a recent World Health Organization survey, the COVID-19 attack and disease burden in children have been much lower than influenza outbreaks, and the secondary household attack rate has also been low. This is in stark contrast to reports of the virus spreading quickly in enclosed spaces like hospitals or cruise ships, as well as a high prevalence of healthcare-associated infections.
  • 914
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Live Chimeric Vaccines against Human Metapneumovirus
Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is an important human pathogen that, along with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a major cause of respiratory tract infections in young infants. Recombinant chimeric viruses expressing antigens of other viruses can be generated by reverse genetics and used for simultaneous immunization against more than one pathogen. This approach can result in the development of promising vaccine candidates against HMPV, and several studies have indeed validated viral vectors expressing HMPV antigens.
  • 911
  • 28 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Viral Ejection Proteins
Genes encoding ejection proteins are commonly found in Podoviridae phages that infect Gram-negative bacteria, including Enterobacteriaceae, Mycobacteria, Pseudomonadaceae, and Cyanobacteria.
  • 910
  • 11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Mosquito-Borne Viruses in Iran
Mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) have global public health implications to both humans and animals, making it a One Health priority concern. Ongoing climatic change creates favourable conditions for the emergence of exotic MBDs in previously disease-free areas. 
  • 910
  • 08 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Endocytic Properties of vGPCRs
Endocytosis is a fundamental process involved in trafficking of various extracellular and transmembrane molecules from the cell surface to its interior. This enables cells to communicate and respond to external environments, maintain cellular homeostasis, and transduce signals. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a family of receptors with seven transmembrane alpha-helical domains (7TM receptors) expressed at the cell surface, where they regulate physiological and pathological cellular processes. Several herpesviruses encode receptors (vGPCRs) which benefits the virus by avoiding host immune surveillance, supporting viral dissemination, and thereby establishing widespread and lifelong infection, processes where receptor signaling and/or endocytosis seem central. vGPCRs are rising as potential drug targets as exemplified by the cytomegalovirus-encoded receptor US28, where its constitutive internalization has been exploited for selective drug delivery in virus infected cells. Therefore, studying GPCR trafficking is of great importance.
  • 907
  • 30 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Antiviral Defence Mechanisms in Plants
Plant viruses, as obligate intracellular parasites, rely exclusively on host machinery to complete their life cycle. Whether a virus is pathogenic or not depends on the balance between the mechanisms used by both plants and viruses during the intense encounter. Antiviral defence mechanisms in plants can be of two types, i.e., natural resistance and engineered resistance. Innate immunity, RNA silencing, translational repression, autophagy-mediated degradation, and resistance to virus movement are the possible natural defence mechanisms against viruses in plants, whereas engineered resistance includes pathogen-derived resistance along with gene editing technologies.
  • 907
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
Rift Valley Fever Phlebovirus
Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (RVFV) infects humans and a wide range of ungulates and historically has caused devastating epidemics in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The most frequently observed lesion in animals and humans is randomly distributed necrosis, particularly in the liver. Lesions supportive of vascular endothelial injury include effusions in body cavities, pulmonary oedema, and haemorrhages in many tissues. Antigen-presenting cells in the skin are likely the early targets of the virus. Following suppression of type I IFN production and necrosis of dermal cells, RVFV spreads systemically, resulting in infection and necrosis of other cells in a variety of organs. Failure of both the innate and adaptive immune responses to control infection is exacerbated by apoptosis of lymphocytes. An excessive pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine response leads to microcirculatory dysfunction. Additionally, impairment of the coagulation system results in widespread haemorrhages. Fatal outcomes result from multiorgan failure, oedema in many organs (including the lungs and brain), hypotension, and circulatory shock. 
  • 906
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Strategies to Manage an Outbreak for Avian Influenza
Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious disease among the poultry population with high avian mortality, which generates significant economic losses and elevated costs for disease control and outbreak eradication. AI is caused by an RNA virus part of the Orthomyxoviridae family; however, only Influenzavirus A is capable of infecting birds. AI pathogenicity is based on the lethality, signs, and molecular characteristics of the virus. Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) virus has a low mortality rate and ability to infect, whereas the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus can cross respiratory and intestinal barriers, diffuse to the blood, damage all tissues of the bird, and has a high mortality rate.
  • 902
  • 26 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Gastrointestinal Problems in COVID-19 Patients
The gastrointestinal tract is the body’s largest interface between the host and the external environment. People infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at higher risk of microbiome alterations and severe diseases. Recent evidence has suggested that the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms associated with gastrointestinal complicity in SARS-CoV-2 infection could be explained by the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) cell receptors.
  • 901
  • 05 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Carbohydrate Ligands for COVID-19 Spike Proteins
An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) first detected in Wuhan, China, has created a public health emergency all over the world. The pandemic has caused more than 340 million confirmed cases and 5.57 million deaths as of 23 January 2022. Although carbohydrates have been found to play a role in coronavirus binding and infection, the role of cell surface glycans in SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis is still not understood.
  • 900
  • 11 Mar 2022
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