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New Trends in Viral Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 1140

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Instrumental Food Analysis, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Interests: viral infectious diseases

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Guest Editor
Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production, Faculty of Animal Sciences and Bioeconomy, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Interests: molecular virology; animal viruses; diagnostics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viruses are extremely interesting and dangerous entities which may infect humans, animals, plants, and bacteria. They emerged from the very beginning of life and are still present in almost each of the ecosystems. They play a role in the evolution, they shape the history, and they are the cause of many serious outbreaks.

In particular, the events of recent years have proved to us how the viral diseases can be devastating on the many levels. They pose the serious threat not only for susceptible individuals but also for healthcare systems, food security, and biodiversity. Recent years have also brought us the new tools and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and to monitor infectious viral diseases. We are all witnesses to the rapid development of virology and we all see how it becomes extremely interdisciplinary science which integrates many fields, such as molecular biology, bioinformatics, immunology, epidemiology, or sociology.

The main goal of this Special Issue is to present the new trends in the viral infectious diseases. We are aware that current virology is highly interdisciplinary science, therefore we welcome papers concerning new diagnostics methods, metagenomic analysis, as well as bioinformatic approach to analysis of epidemiological data, developing of antiviral drugs, and surveillance of infections.

We encourage you to take part in the preparation of this Special Issue, both original research articles and review articles are welcome.

Dr. Marek Kowalczyk
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Jakubczak
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. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • molecular virology
  • epidemiology
  • diagnostics techniques
  • surveillance
  • outbreaks tracing
  • metagenomics
  • bioinformatic

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

27 pages, 4900 KiB  
Review
Comprehensive Insights into the Molecular Basis of HIV Glycoproteins
by Amir Elalouf, Hanan Maoz and Amit Yaniv Rosenfeld
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(18), 8271; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14188271 - 13 Sep 2024
Abstract
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a diploid, C-type enveloped retrovirus belonging to the Lentivirus genus, characterized by two positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes, that transitioned from non-human primates to humans and has become globally widespread. In its advanced stages, HIV leads to Acquired Immune [...] Read more.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a diploid, C-type enveloped retrovirus belonging to the Lentivirus genus, characterized by two positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes, that transitioned from non-human primates to humans and has become globally widespread. In its advanced stages, HIV leads to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which severely weakens the immune system by depleting CD4+ helper T cells. Without treatment, HIV progressively impairs immune function, making the body susceptible to various opportunistic infections and complications, including cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological issues, as well as secondary cancers. The envelope glycoprotein complex (Env), composed of gp120 and gp41 subunits derived from the precursor gp160, plays a central role in cycle entry. gp160, synthesized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, undergoes glycosylation and proteolytic cleavage, forming a trimeric spike on the virion surface. These structural features, including the transmembrane domain (TMD), membrane-proximal external region (MPER), and cytoplasmic tail (CT), are critical for viral infectivity and immune evasion. Glycosylation and proteolytic processing, especially by furin, are essential for Env’s fusogenic activity and capacity to evade immune detection. The virus’s outer envelope glycoprotein, gp120, interacts with host cell CD4 receptors. This interaction, along with the involvement of coreceptors CXCR4 and CCR5, prompts the exposure of the gp41 fusogenic components, enabling the fusion of viral and host cell membranes. While this is the predominant pathway for viral entry, alternative mechanisms involving receptors such as C-type lectin and mannose receptors have been found. This review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the structural features and functional roles of HIV entry proteins, particularly gp120 and gp41, in the viral entry process. By examining these proteins’ architecture, the review elucidates how their structural properties facilitate HIV invasion of host cells. It also explores the synthesis, trafficking, and structural characteristics of Env/gp160 proteins, highlighting the interactions between gp120, gp41, and the viral matrix. These contributions advance drug resistance management and vaccine development efforts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Trends in Viral Infectious Diseases)
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