scholarly journals Extracellular Vesicles: Roles in Human Viral Infections, Immune-Diagnostic, and Therapeutic Applications

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1056
Author(s):  
Ayodeji O. Ipinmoroti ◽  
Qiana L. Matthews

Membrane-bound vesicles that are released from cells are increasingly being studied as a medium of intercellular communication, as these act to shuttle functional proteins, such as lipids, DNA, rRNA, and miRNA, between cells during essential physiological processes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), most commonly exosomes, are consistently produced by virus-infected cells, and they play crucial roles in mediating communication between infected and uninfected cells. Notably, pathophysiological roles for EVs have been established in various viral infections, including human immune deficiency virus (HIV), coronavirus (CoV), and human adenovirus (HAdv). Retroviruses, such as HIV, modulate the production and composition of EVs, and critically, these viruses can exploit EV formation, secretion, and release pathways to promote infection, transmission, and intercellular spread. Consequently, EV production has been investigated as a potential tool for the development of improved viral infection diagnostics and therapeutics. This review will summarize our present knowledge of EV–virus relationships, focusing on their known roles in pathophysiological pathways, immunomodulatory mechanisms, and utility for biomarker discovery. This review will also discuss the potential for EVs to be exploited as diagnostic and treatment tools for viral infection.

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-205
Author(s):  
Thomas Aschacher ◽  
Artem Krokhin ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova ◽  
Johannes Langle ◽  
Vladimir Nebolsin ◽  
...  

Ingavirin® (imidazolyl ethanamide pentandioic acid) is an original antiviral drug, which is used in Russia for treatment and profilaxis of influenza and other acute viral infections. We confirmed that imidazolyl ethanamide pentandioic acid (IEPA), not being interferon inducer itself, enhances synthesis of both interferon-a/fi receptors (IFNAR) to interferone and cell sensitivity to interferone signalling, which was suppressed by NS1 protein - pathogen factor of influenza virus. IEPA is able to promote antiviral effector proteins PKR and MxA in infected cells, in opposition to interferon system suppression by influenza virus. Theoretical ground of clinical efficacy of Ingavirine® could be confirmed by obtained data of influence to innate immune system during viral infection.


Author(s):  
Sharon de Toledo Martins ◽  
Lysangela Ronalte Alves

Extracellular vesicles are small membrane structures containing proteins and nucleic acids that are gaining a lot of attention lately. They are produced by most cells and can be detected in several body fluids, having a huge potential in therapeutic and diagnostic approaches. EVs produced by infected cells usually have a molecular signature that is very distinct from healthy cells. For intracellular pathogens like viruses, EVs can have an even more complex function, since the viral biogenesis pathway can overlap with EV pathways in several ways, generating a continuum of particles, like naked virions, EVs containing infective viral genomes and quasi-enveloped viruses, besides the classical complete viral particles that are secreted to the extracellular space. Those particles can act in recipient cells in different ways. Besides being directly infective, they also can prime neighbor cells rendering them more susceptible to infection, block antiviral responses and deliver isolated viral molecules. On the other hand, they can trigger antiviral responses and cytokine secretion even in uninfected cells near the infection site, helping to fight the infection and protect other cells from the virus. This protective response can also backfire, when a massive inflammation facilitated by those EVs can be responsible for bad clinical outcomes. EVs can help or harm the antiviral response, and sometimes both mechanisms are observed in infections by the same virus. Since those pathways are intrinsically interlinked, understand the role of EVs during viral infections is crucial to comprehend viral mechanisms and respond better to emerging viral diseases.


Vaccines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Urbanelli ◽  
Sandra Buratta ◽  
Brunella Tancini ◽  
Krizia Sagini ◽  
Federica Delo ◽  
...  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been found to be released by any type of cell and can be retrieved in every circulating body fluid, namely blood (plasma, serum), saliva, milk, and urine. EVs were initially considered a cellular garbage disposal tool, but later it became evident that they are involved in intercellular signaling. There is evidence that viruses can use EV endocytic routes to enter uninfected cells and hijack the EV secretory pathway to exit infected cells, thus illustrating that EVs and viruses share common cell entry and biogenesis mechanisms. Moreover, EVs play a role in immune response against viral pathogens. EVs incorporate and spread both viral and host factors, thereby prompting or inhibiting immune responses towards them via a multiplicity of mechanisms. The involvement of EVs in immune responses, and their potential use as agents modulating viral infection, will be examined. Although further studies are needed, the engineering of EVs could package viral elements or host factors selected for their immunostimulatory properties, to be used as vaccines or tolerogenic tools in autoimmune diseases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (33) ◽  
pp. 9155-9161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Nolte-‘t Hoen ◽  
Tom Cremer ◽  
Robert C. Gallo ◽  
Leonid B. Margolis

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by various cells are small phospholipid membrane-enclosed entities that can carry miRNA. They are now central to research in many fields of biology because they seem to constitute a new system of cell–cell communication. Physical and chemical characteristics of many EVs, as well as their biogenesis pathways, resemble those of retroviruses. Moreover, EVs generated by virus-infected cells can incorporate viral proteins and fragments of viral RNA, being thus indistinguishable from defective (noninfectious) retroviruses. EVs, depending on the proteins and genetic material incorporated in them, play a significant role in viral infection, both facilitating and suppressing it. Deciphering the mechanisms of EV-cell interactions may facilitate the design of EVs that inhibit viral infection and can be used as vehicles for targeted drug delivery.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Lada Purvinsh ◽  
Andrey Gorshkov ◽  
Aleksandra Brodskaia ◽  
Andrey Vasin

Secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is a fundamental property of living cells. EVs are known to transfer biological signals between cells and thus regulate the functional state of recipient cells. Such vesicles mediate the intercellular transport of many biologically active molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, specific lipids) and participate in regulation of key physiological processes. In addition, EVs are involved in the pathogenesis of multiple diseases: infectious, neurodegenerative, and oncological. The current EV classification into microvesicles, apoptotic bodies, and exosomes is based on their size, pathways of cellular biogenesis, and molecular composition. This review is focused on analysis of the role of EVs (mainly exosomes) in the pathogenesis of viral infection. We briefly characterize the biogenesis and molecular composition of various EV types. Then, we consider EV-mediated pro- and anti-viral mechanisms. EV secretion by infected cells can be an important factor of virus spread in target cell populations, or a protective factor limiting viral invasion. The data discussed in this review, on the effect of EV secretion by infected cells on processes in neighboring cells and on immune cells, are of high significance in the search for new therapeutic approaches and for design of new generations of vaccines.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Seiti Yamada Yoshikawa ◽  
Franciane Mouradian Emidio Teixeira ◽  
Maria Notomi Sato ◽  
Luanda Mara da Silva Oliveira

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released by various cells and recently have attracted attention because they constitute a refined system of cell–cell communication. EVs deliver a diverse array of biomolecules including messenger RNAs (mRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), proteins and lipids, and they can be used as potential biomarkers in normal and pathological conditions. The cargo of EVs is a snapshot of the donor cell profile; thus, in viral infections, EVs produced by infected cells could be a central player in disease pathogenesis. In this context, miRNAs incorporated into EVs can affect the immune recognition of viruses and promote or restrict their replication in target cells. In this review, we provide an updated overview of the roles played by EV-delivered miRNAs in viral infections and discuss the potential consequences for the host response. The full understanding of the functions of EVs and miRNAs can turn into useful biomarkers for infection detection and monitoring and/or uncover potential therapeutic targets.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (22) ◽  
pp. 10050-10053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Webster ◽  
Sonia Assil ◽  
Marlène Dreux

All cells possess signaling pathways designed to trigger antiviral responses, notably characterized by type I interferon (IFN) production, upon recognition of invading viruses. Especially, host sensors recognize viral nucleic acids. Nonetheless, virtually all viruses have evolved potent strategies that preclude host responses within the infected cells. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) is an immune cell type known as a robust type I IFN producer in response to viral infection. Evidence suggests that such functionality of the pDCs participates in viral clearance. Nonetheless, their contribution, which is likely complex and varies depending on the pathogen, is still enigmatic for many viruses. pDCs are not permissive to most viral infections, and consistently, recent examples suggest that pDCs respond to immunostimulatory viral RNA transferred via noninfectious and/or noncanonical viral/cellular carriers. Therefore, the pDC response likely bypasses innate signaling blockages induced by virus within infected cells. Importantly, the requirement for cell-cell contact is increasingly recognized as a hallmark of the pDC-mediated antiviral state, triggered by evolutionarily divergent RNA viruses.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asit Kumar ◽  
Sunitha Kodidela ◽  
Erene Tadrous ◽  
Theodore James Cory ◽  
Crystal Martin Walker ◽  
...  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have shown their potential as a carrier of molecular information, and they have been involved in physiological functions and diseases caused by viral infections. Virus-infected cells secrete various lipid-bound vesicles, including endosome pathway-derived exosomes and microvesicles/microparticles that are released from the plasma membrane. They are released via a direct outward budding and fission of plasma membrane blebs into the extracellular space to either facilitate virus propagation or regulate the immune responses. Moreover, EVs generated by virus-infected cells can incorporate virulence factors including viral protein and viral genetic material, and thus can resemble noninfectious viruses. Interactions of EVs with recipient cells have been shown to activate signaling pathways that may contribute to a sustained cellular response towards viral infections. EVs, by utilizing a complex set of cargos, can play a regulatory role in viral infection, both by facilitating and suppressing the infection. EV-based antiviral and antiretroviral drug delivery approaches provide an opportunity for targeted drug delivery. In this review, we summarize the literature on EVs, their associated involvement in transmission in viral infections, and potential therapeutic implications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. e1008752
Author(s):  
Peter Czuppon ◽  
Florence Débarre ◽  
Antonio Gonçalves ◽  
Olivier Tenaillon ◽  
Alan S. Perelson ◽  
...  

Repurposed drugs that are safe and immediately available constitute a first line of defense against new viral infections. Despite limited antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, several drugs are being tested as medication or as prophylaxis to prevent infection. Using a stochastic model of early phase infection, we evaluate the success of prophylactic treatment with different drug types to prevent viral infection. We find that there exists a critical efficacy that a treatment must reach in order to block viral establishment. Treatment by a combination of drugs reduces the critical efficacy, most effectively by the combination of a drug blocking viral entry into cells and a drug increasing viral clearance. Below the critical efficacy, the risk of infection can nonetheless be reduced. Drugs blocking viral entry into cells or enhancing viral clearance reduce the risk of infection more than drugs that reduce viral production in infected cells. The larger the initial inoculum of infectious virus, the less likely is prevention of an infection. In our model, we find that as long as the viral inoculum is smaller than 10 infectious virus particles, viral infection can be prevented almost certainly with drugs of 90% efficacy (or more). Even when a viral infection cannot be prevented, antivirals delay the time to detectable viral loads. The largest delay of viral infection is achieved by drugs reducing viral production in infected cells. A delay of virus infection flattens the within-host viral dynamic curve, possibly reducing transmission and symptom severity. Thus, antiviral prophylaxis, even with reduced efficacy, could be efficiently used to prevent or alleviate infection in people at high risk.


2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (26) ◽  
pp. 1019-1023
Author(s):  
Judit Gervain

The successful therapy of hepatitis C viral infection requires that the illness is diagnosed before the development of structural changes of the liver. Testing is stepwise consisting of screening, diagnosis, and anti-viral therapy follow-up. For these steps there are different biochemical, serological, histological and molecular biological methods available. For screening, alanine aminotransferase and anti-HCV tests are used. The diagnosis of infection is confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction of the viral nucleic acid. Before initiation of the therapy liver biopsy is recommended to determine the level of structural changes in the liver. Alternatively, transient elastography or blood biomarkers may be also used for this purpose. Differential diagnosis should exclude the co-existence of other viral infections and chronic hepatitis due to other origin, with special attention to the presence of autoantibodies. The outcome of the antiviral therapy and the length of treatment are mainly determined by the viral genotype. In Hungary, most patients are infected with genotype 1, subtype b. The polymorphism type that occurs in the single nucleotide located next to the interleukin 28B region in chromosome 19 and the viral polymorphism type Q80K for infection with HCV 1a serve as predictive therapeutic markers. The follow-up of therapy is based on the quantitative determination of viral nucleic acid according to national and international protocols and should use the same method and laboratory throughout the treatment of an individual patient. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(26), 1019–1023.


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