Viral Infections and Host Immune Responses

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, emerging viral epidemics, climate change, and population migration have resulted in greater vulnerability to the transmission of old, new, and re-emerging infectious diseases. Although humans are constantly exposed to numerous viruses, the consequences of infection vary among individuals. In order to respond effectively to viral infections, the immune system must assess the threat posed by each pathogen by analyzing its molecular components and comparing them to those of the host. In viral infections, the host’s innate immune system is designed to act as the first line of defence to prevent viral invasion or replication before the adaptive immune system generates a more rapid and robust protective response. Some viruses, such as the influenza virus, are capable of stimulating immediate antibody production and an effective immune response in the host. As a result, in most cases, these pathogens are definitively eradicated from the organism after an acute phase of the illness. This is not the case with other viruses, such as HCV and HIV, responsible for hepatitis C and AIDS, respectively, which often lead to chronic viral diseases.

Understanding the precise mechanisms by which viruses and the immune system interact is not only an intriguing challenge but also crucial for the development of more targeted therapeutic strategies.

This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of recent advances in the field of “Viral Infections and Host Immune Responses”. We invite you to contribute in the form of original research articles, reviews, or short communications. Topics of interest include the innate immune response to viral infection and the cellular factors involved; the adaptive T and B cell immune response; as well as the immune response in acute and chronic infections and in co-infections.

Dr. Barbara Ridolfi
Dr. Maria Teresa Maggiorella
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• virus infections
• virus–host interaction
• innate immunity
• adaptive immunity
• host factors
• co-infections
• acute and chronic infections
• restriction factors
• therapeutic strategies