Abstract
The current issue of Viral Immunology features an excellent review of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) by Dr. David Verhoeven. RSV is a respiratory virus responsible for mild cold-like symptoms that last for a few days. Infection of infants and the elderly, however, can sometimes result in serious disease. The Centers for Disease Control report that RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States, and a significant cause of respiratory illness in older adults. Dr. Verhoeven notes that we understand that some of the morbidity associated with RSV in neonates is due to the stage of immunological maturation, which favors immunosuppression. The rapid development of the immune system after birth suggests that each age group (newborn, early infant, older infant, toddler, and older) may respond to the virus in different ways. In the review, he summarizes the morbidity associated with infection in young children in the context of the stage of immunological maturation of monocytes/macrophages and the ramifications for poor innate control of viral pathogenesis. He also summarizes key mechanisms that contribute to the diminished antiviral innate immune responses of these young children.
Several research articles in the issue focus on other aspects of the host response to viral infections. Zhang and colleagues have identified linear B cell epitopes within the nonstructural proteins of enterovirus 71, which is responsible for causing hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). One of these epitopes is highly conserved with other members of human Enterovirus species A. These findings may be useful in the development of serological tests for the diagnosis of HFMD caused by a broad range of human Enterovirus species A. Biganzoli et al. note that human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A), human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B), and human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) can persist by establishing lifelong infections in immunocompetent hosts. The authors have carried out longitudinal studies in seropositive healthy individuals of different ages and show a clear difference between DNA detection and the IgG subclass patterns of HHV-6A/B and HHV-7 in healthy individuals. These are among the first longitudinal studies on the behavior of these viruses in elderly subjects. Yaghouti et al. focus on human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraperesis (HAM/TSP), a chronic viral neuroinflammatory disease that leads to damage of the central nervous system. The authors have analyzed gene expression and plasma levels of a chromatin-associated nuclear protein (high-mobility group protein 1, HMG1) and its receptor in HAM/TSP patients, HTLV-1-infected asymptomatic carriers, and healthy controls. Their data suggest that the HMG1 receptor may play a role in regulating inflammatory responses to HTLV-1 and could potentially be used to predict HAM/TSP development in HTLV-1-infected individuals.
Finally, a brief report in this issue addresses a new method for visualizing flow cytometry data (Holmes et al.).
I would like to thank all of the authors for their excellent contributions to the journal and all of the reviewers who work tirelessly to ensure the quality of the accepted articles.