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The Journal of Infectious Diseases Oct 2023Lassa virus (LASV), Junin virus (JUNV), and several other members of the Arenaviridae family are capable of zoonotic transfer to humans and induction of severe viral...
Lassa virus (LASV), Junin virus (JUNV), and several other members of the Arenaviridae family are capable of zoonotic transfer to humans and induction of severe viral hemorrhagic fevers. Despite the importance of arenaviruses as potential pandemic pathogens, numerous gaps exist in scientific knowledge pertaining to this diverse family, including gaps in understanding replication, immunosuppression, receptor usage, and elicitation of neutralizing antibody responses, that in turn complicates development of medical countermeasures. A further challenge to the development of medical countermeasures for arenaviruses is the requirement for use of animal models at high levels of biocontainment, where each model has distinct advantages and limitations depending on, availability of space, animals species-specific reagents, and most importantly the ability of the model to faithfully recapitulate human disease. Designation of LASV and JUNV as prototype pathogens can facilitate progress in addressing the public health challenges posed by members of this important virus family.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Arenaviridae; Virus Replication; Junin virus; Lassa virus; Models, Animal
PubMed: 37849403
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiac266 -
Virulence Dec 2023
Topics: Humans; Arenaviridae; Viral Proteins; Arenaviridae Infections
PubMed: 37968871
DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2023.2279353 -
Virus Research Apr 2017Bunyaviridae and Arenaviridae virus families include an important number of highly pathogenic viruses for humans. They are enveloped viruses with negative stranded RNA... (Review)
Review
Bunyaviridae and Arenaviridae virus families include an important number of highly pathogenic viruses for humans. They are enveloped viruses with negative stranded RNA genomes divided into three (bunyaviruses) or two (arenaviruses) segments. Each genome segment is coated by the viral nucleoproteins (NPs) and the polymerase (L protein) to form a functional ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. The viral RNP provides the necessary context on which the L protein carries out the biosynthetic processes of RNA replication and gene transcription. Decades of research have provided a good understanding of the molecular processes underlying RNA synthesis, both RNA replication and gene transcription, for these two families of viruses. In this review we will provide a global view of the common features, as well as differences, of the molecular biology of Bunyaviridae and Arenaviridae. We will also describe structures of protein and protein-RNA complexes so far determined for these viral families, mainly focusing on the L protein, and discuss their implications for understanding the mechanisms of viral RNA replication and gene transcription within the architecture of viral RNPs, also taking into account the cellular context in which these processes occur. Finally, we will discuss the implications of these structural findings for the development of antiviral drugs to treat human diseases caused by members of the Bunyaviridae and Arenaviridae families.
Topics: Arenaviridae; Bunyaviridae; Humans; Nucleoproteins; RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; Transcription, Genetic; Viral Proteins; Virus Replication
PubMed: 28137457
DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2017.01.018 -
Current Topics in Microbiology and... 2023Lassa Fever (LF) is a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in West Africa. LF begins with flu-like symptoms that are difficult to distinguish from other common endemic...
Lassa Fever (LF) is a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in West Africa. LF begins with flu-like symptoms that are difficult to distinguish from other common endemic diseases such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever making it hard to diagnose clinically. Availability of a rapid diagnostic test and other serological and molecular assays facilitates accurate diagnosis of LF. Lassa virus therapeutics are currently in different stages of preclinical development. Arevirumab, a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies, demonstrates a great safety and efficacy profile in non-human primates. Major efforts have been made in the development of a Lassa virus vaccine. Two vaccine candidates, MeV-NP and pLASV-GPC are undergoing evaluation in phase I clinical trials.
Topics: Animals; Lassa virus; Viral Vaccines; Lassa Fever; Primates; Africa, Western
PubMed: 36253593
DOI: 10.1007/82_2022_261 -
Emerging Microbes & Infections Dec 2023Emerging zoonoses of wildlife origin caused by previously unknown agents are one of the most important challenges for human health. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau represents...
Emerging zoonoses of wildlife origin caused by previously unknown agents are one of the most important challenges for human health. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau represents a unique ecological niche with diverse wildlife that harbours several human pathogens and numerous previously uncharacterized pathogens. In this study, we identified and characterized a novel arenavirus (namely, plateau pika virus, PPV) from plateau pikas () on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by virome analysis. Isolated PPV strains could replicate in several mammalian cells. We further investigated PPV pathogenesis using animal models. PPV administered via an intraventricular route caused trembling and sudden death in IFNαβR mice, and pathological inflammatory lesions in brain tissue were observed. According to a retrospective serological survey in the geographical region where PPV was isolated, PPV-specific IgG antibodies were detected in 8 (2.4%) of 335 outpatients with available sera. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that this virus was clearly separated from previously reported New and Old World mammarenaviruses. Under the co-speciation framework, the estimated divergence time of PPV was 77-88 million years ago (MYA), earlier than that of OW and NW mammarenaviruses (26-34 MYA).
Topics: Animals; Humans; Mice; Arenaviridae; Phylogeny; Retrospective Studies; Tibet; Animals, Wild; Lagomorpha
PubMed: 36939609
DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2192816 -
Viruses Jun 2021Mammarenaviruses are prevalent pathogens distributed worldwide, and several strains cause severe cases of human infections with high morbidity and significant mortality.... (Review)
Review
Mammarenaviruses are prevalent pathogens distributed worldwide, and several strains cause severe cases of human infections with high morbidity and significant mortality. Currently, there is no FDA-approved antiviral drugs and vaccines against mammarenavirus and the potential treatment option is limited to an off-label use of ribavirin that shows only partial protective effect and associates with side effects. For the past few decades, extensive research has reported potential anti-mammarenaviral drugs and their mechanisms of action in host as well as vaccine candidates. This review describes current knowledge about mammarenavirus virology, progress of antiviral drug development, and technical strategies of drug screening.
Topics: A549 Cells; Animals; Antiviral Agents; Arenaviridae; Chlorocebus aethiops; Clinical Trials as Topic; Drug Development; Drug Repositioning; HEK293 Cells; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Humans; Ribavirin; Vero Cells; Virus Replication
PubMed: 34206216
DOI: 10.3390/v13071187 -
Oncotarget Oct 2015
Topics: Arenaviridae Infections; Arenavirus; Exoribonucleases; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Interferon Type I; Viral Proteins
PubMed: 26468986
DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.6110 -
Current Opinion in Virology Aug 2019
Topics: Africa; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Lassa Fever; Lassa virus; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 31564289
DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2019.09.001 -
Blood Dec 2023
Topics: Animals; Arenaviridae; Arenaviridae Infections; Hemorrhage; Macaca
PubMed: 38095923
DOI: 10.1182/blood.2023022303 -
The Journal of General Virology Sep 2023is a family for ambisense RNA viruses with genomes of about 10.5 kb that infect mammals, snakes, and fish. The arenavirid genome consists of two or three...
is a family for ambisense RNA viruses with genomes of about 10.5 kb that infect mammals, snakes, and fish. The arenavirid genome consists of two or three single-stranded RNA segments and encodes a nucleoprotein (NP), a glycoprotein (GP) and a large (L) protein containing RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP) domains; some arenavirids encode a zinc-binding protein (Z). This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) report on the family , which is available at www.ictv.global/report/arenaviridae.
Topics: Animals; Arenaviridae; Nucleoproteins; RNA; RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; Mammals
PubMed: 37698490
DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001891