Defensins
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2017)
Special Issue Editor
Interests: mucosal immunity (female reproductive tracts and GI); host–virus interaction; HIV; herpesvirus; human papillomavirus; Zika virus; SARS-CoV-2
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Defensins are antimicrobial peptides important to innate mucosal immunity. These antimicrobial peptides were originally thought to protect the host against various microbes including viruses by direct killing; however, it is well recognized that defensins inhibit or promote viruses through multiple mechanisms. The effect on viral infection appears to be specific to the defensin, virus and target cell. Defensins also exhibit potent immunoregulatory activities. Their levels have been associated with various clinical outcomes, suggesting a role of defensins in pathogenesis of infectious diseases and cancer. By exploiting their immunomodulatory effect, the potential of defensins as adjuvants has been demonstrated.
In this Special Issue, we aim to gain a better understanding of pleotropic functions on defensins and other antimicrobial peptides that impact viral infection. This knowledge may provide insights into development of an effective strategy against viral infection.
Dr. Theresa Li-Yun Chang
Guest Editor
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. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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.
Keywords
- defensins
- viruses
- immune response
- adjuvants, pathogenesis
