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The Journal of Infectious Diseases Oct 2023Viruses in the family Filoviridae, including the commonly known Ebola (EBOV) and Marburg (MARV) viruses, can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman... (Review)
Review
Viruses in the family Filoviridae, including the commonly known Ebola (EBOV) and Marburg (MARV) viruses, can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. Sporadic outbreaks of filovirus disease occur in sub-Saharan Africa with reported case fatality rates ranging from 25% to 90%. The high mortality and increasing frequency and magnitude of recent outbreaks along with the increased potential for spread from rural to urban areas highlight the importance of pandemic preparedness for these viruses. Despite their designation as high-priority pathogens, numerous scientific gaps exist in critical areas. In this review, these gaps and an assessment of potential prototype pathogen candidates are presented for this important virus family.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Filoviridae; Ebolavirus; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola; Marburgvirus; Disease Outbreaks
PubMed: 37849404
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad362 -
The Journal of Infectious Diseases Oct 2023The Paramyxoviridae family includes established human pathogens such as measles virus, mumps virus, and the human parainfluenza viruses; highly lethal zoonotic pathogens... (Review)
Review
The Paramyxoviridae family includes established human pathogens such as measles virus, mumps virus, and the human parainfluenza viruses; highly lethal zoonotic pathogens such as Nipah virus; and a number of recently identified agents, such as Sosuga virus, which remain poorly understood. The high human-to-human transmission rate of paramyxoviruses such as measles virus, high case fatality rate associated with other family members such as Nipah virus, and the existence of poorly characterized zoonotic pathogens raise concern that known and unknown paramyxoviruses have significant pandemic potential. In this review, the general life cycle, taxonomic relationships, and viral pathogenesis are described for paramyxoviruses that cause both systemic and respiratory system-restricted infections. Next, key gaps in critical areas are presented, following detailed conversations with subject matter experts and based on the current literature. Finally, we present an assessment of potential prototype pathogen candidates that could be used as models to study this important virus family, including assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each potential prototype.
Topics: Humans; Pandemics; Paramyxoviridae; Nipah Virus; Vaccines; Antiviral Agents
PubMed: 37849400
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad123 -
Virus Research Apr 2017The paramyxo- and pneumoviruses are members of the order Mononegavirales, a group of viruses with non-segmented, negative strand RNA genomes. The polymerases of these... (Review)
Review
The paramyxo- and pneumoviruses are members of the order Mononegavirales, a group of viruses with non-segmented, negative strand RNA genomes. The polymerases of these viruses are multi-functional complexes, capable of transcribing subgenomic capped and polyadenylated mRNAs and replicating the genome. Although there is no native structure available for any complete paramyxo- or pneumovirus polymerase, functional and structural studies of a fragment of a pneumovirus polymerase protein and mutation analyses and resistance profiling of small-molecule inhibitors have generated a wealth of mechanistic information. This review integrates these data with the structure of a related polymerase, identifying similarities, differences, gaps in knowledge, and avenues for antiviral drug development.
Topics: DNA Mutational Analysis; Drug Resistance, Viral; Mutation, Missense; Paramyxoviridae; Pneumovirus; RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; Transcription, Genetic; Virus Replication
PubMed: 28104450
DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2017.01.008 -
Viruses Feb 2020Rhabdoviruses are a large and ecologically diverse family of negative-sense RNA viruses (: ). These viruses are capable of infecting an unexpectedly wide variety of... (Review)
Review
Rhabdoviruses are a large and ecologically diverse family of negative-sense RNA viruses (: ). These viruses are capable of infecting an unexpectedly wide variety of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates distributed over all human-inhabited continents. However, only a few rhabdoviruses are known to infect humans: a ledantevirus (Le Dantec virus), several lyssaviruses (in particular, rabies virus), and several vesiculoviruses (e.g., Chandipura virus, vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus). Recently, several novel rhabdoviruses have been discovered in the blood of both healthy and severely ill individuals living in Central and Western Africa. These viruses-Bas-Congo virus, Ekpoma virus 1, and Ekpoma virus 2-are members of the little-understood rhabdoviral genus . Other than the basic genomic architecture, tibroviruses bear little resemblance to well-studied rhabdoviruses such as rabies virus and vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus. These three human tibroviruses are quite divergent from each other, and each of them clusters closely with tibroviruses currently known only from biting midges or healthy cattle. Seroprevalence studies suggest that human tibrovirus infections may be common but are almost entirely unrecognized. The pathogenic potential of this diverse group of viruses remains unknown. Although certain tibroviruses may be benign and well-adapted to humans, others could be newly emerging and produce serious disease. Here, we review the current knowledge of tibroviruses and argue that assessing their impact on human health should be an urgent priority.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Biological Products; Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; Environmental Exposure; Genetic Variation; Genome, Viral; Genomics; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Public Health Surveillance; Rhabdoviridae; Rhabdoviridae Infections; Symbiosis; Viral Tropism; Virus Internalization; Virus Replication
PubMed: 32106547
DOI: 10.3390/v12030252 -
Current Topics in Microbiology and... 2017Reverse genetics systems are used for the generation of recombinant viruses. For filoviruses, this technology has been available for more than 15 years and has been... (Review)
Review
Reverse genetics systems are used for the generation of recombinant viruses. For filoviruses, this technology has been available for more than 15 years and has been used to investigate questions regarding the molecular biology, pathogenicity, and host adaptation determinants of these viruses. Further, reporter-expressing, recombinant viruses are increasingly used as tools for screening for and characterization of candidate medical countermeasures. Thus, reverse genetics systems represent powerful research tools. Here we provide an overview of available reverse genetics systems for the generation of recombinant filoviruses, potential applications, and the achievements that have been made using these systems.
Topics: Filoviridae; Genome, Viral; Reverse Genetics; Virulence
PubMed: 28918537
DOI: 10.1007/82_2017_55 -
Viruses Jan 2024Henipaviruses are a genus of emerging pathogens that includes the highly virulent Nipah and Hendra viruses that cause reoccurring outbreaks of disease. Henipaviruses... (Review)
Review
Henipaviruses are a genus of emerging pathogens that includes the highly virulent Nipah and Hendra viruses that cause reoccurring outbreaks of disease. Henipaviruses rely on two surface glycoproteins, known as the attachment and fusion proteins, to facilitate entry into host cells. As new and divergent members of the genus have been discovered and structurally characterized, key differences and similarities have been noted. This review surveys the available structural information on glycoproteins, complementing this with information from related biophysical and structural studies of the broader family of which Henipaviruses are members. The process of viral entry is a primary focus for vaccine and drug development, and this review aims to identify critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms that drive fusion.
Topics: Humans; Henipavirus; Nipah Virus; Henipavirus Infections; Glycoproteins; Hendra Virus
PubMed: 38399971
DOI: 10.3390/v16020195 -
Archives of Virology 1991
Topics: Paramyxoviridae; RNA Viruses; Rhabdoviridae
PubMed: 2006902
DOI: No ID Found -
Nature Communications Nov 2015The L protein of mononegaviruses harbours all catalytic activities for genome replication and transcription. It contains six conserved domains (CR-I to -VI; Fig. 1a)....
The L protein of mononegaviruses harbours all catalytic activities for genome replication and transcription. It contains six conserved domains (CR-I to -VI; Fig. 1a). CR-III has been linked to polymerase and polyadenylation activity, CR-V to mRNA capping and CR-VI to cap methylation. However, how these activities are choreographed is poorly understood. Here we present the 2.2-Å X-ray structure and activities of CR-VI+, a portion of human Metapneumovirus L consisting of CR-VI and the poorly conserved region at its C terminus, the +domain. The CR-VI domain has a methyltransferase fold, which besides the typical S-adenosylmethionine-binding site ((SAM)P) also contains a novel pocket ((NS)P) that can accommodate a nucleoside. CR-VI lacks an obvious cap-binding site, and the (SAM)P-adjoining site holding the nucleotides undergoing methylation ((SUB)P) is unusually narrow because of the overhanging +domain. CR-VI+ sequentially methylates caps at their 2'O and N7 positions, and also displays nucleotide triphosphatase activity.
Topics: Animals; Binding Sites; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Crystallization; Crystallography, X-Ray; Metapneumovirus; Methylation; Mononegavirales; Protein Structure, Tertiary; RNA; RNA Caps; RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase; S-Adenosylmethionine; Sf9 Cells; Spodoptera; Viral Proteins
PubMed: 26549102
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9749 -
Archives of Virology Dec 2020In March 2020, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was...
In March 2020, following the annual International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) ratification vote on newly proposed taxa, the phylum Negarnaviricota was amended and emended. At the genus rank, 20 new genera were added, two were deleted, one was moved, and three were renamed. At the species rank, 160 species were added, four were deleted, ten were moved and renamed, and 30 species were renamed. This article presents the updated taxonomy of Negarnaviricota as now accepted by the ICTV.
Topics: Mononegavirales; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 32888050
DOI: 10.1007/s00705-020-04731-2 -
Viruses Jun 2016The highly pathogenic Marburg virus (MARV) is a member of the Filoviridae family and belongs to the group of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses. Reverse genetics... (Review)
Review
The highly pathogenic Marburg virus (MARV) is a member of the Filoviridae family and belongs to the group of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses. Reverse genetics systems established for MARV have been used to study various aspects of the viral replication cycle, analyze host responses, image viral infection, and screen for antivirals. This article provides an overview of the currently established MARV reverse genetic systems based on minigenomes, infectious virus-like particles and full-length clones, and the research that has been conducted using these systems.
Topics: Marburgvirus; Reverse Genetics; Virology
PubMed: 27338448
DOI: 10.3390/v8060178