Host Immune Responses to RNA Viruses

Dear Colleagues,

RNA viruses have the ability to infect bacteria, plants, animals and humans. Over the past century, infections due to RNA viruses including human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), influenza virus, rotavirus, West Nile virus, Dengue virus, and measles virus have been major threats to human health. Furthermore, RNA viruses are often the cause of emerging infectious diseases in humans with high consequences on healthcare systems and economy. Some examples of RNA viruses which have caused emerging diseases are severe acute respiratory syndrome related (SARS) coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, and the Ebola virus. The huge global impact of SARS-CoV-2 which emerged in 2019 highlighted the importance of preparedness to fight RNA viruses. A better understanding of host immune responses to RNA viruses is a key aspect to define correlates of protection essential to improve or develop therapeutic strategies and vaccine platforms.

A lot of effort has been put into research on RNA viruses including Poliovirus, HIV-1, and influenza virus for many years, but other RNA viruses including Chikungunya, Zika, and Nipah viruses have the potential to become epidemics. Recent advancements in the characterisation of protective immune response to some RNA viruses, such as Ebola virus or SARS-CoV-2, quickly led to first-generation vaccine development. However, knowledge gaps in host immune responses to a number of RNA viruses still exist. Host-immune factors leading to the control of infection as well as immune determinants involved in disease severity, or latency and viral reservoir in particular cases, are not fully understood. In addition, RNA viruses may show a high mutation rate in their host due to the lack of proofreading by their replicases, which can lead to immune evasion. Immune mechanisms against viral evasion are not fully defined. Such information will be crucial to design novel vaccine and therapeutic strategies.

I would like to invite colleagues investigating immune responses to any of the RNA viruses in in vitro or ex vivo models, animal models or humans within the area of immunology, virology, public health and epidemiology to submit their manuscripts to this Special Issue of Pathogens in the form of original research and reviews. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Characterisation of humoral and cellular responses during RNA virus infections;
• Dynamics of innate immune response to RNA virus infection;
• Role of host immune responses in pathogenesis of viral infections;
• Immune mechanisms against viral escape.

Dr. Stephanie Longet
Prof. Dr. Miles Carroll
Guest Editors

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