Due to the success of the Volume I of the Research Topic
"Viral Interactions with the Nucleus" we are launching a Volume II of the series.
Viruses cause numerous medically important diseases, affecting developing, developed, rich and poor populations alike. The diseases vary in severity, including COVID-19, chickenpox, smallpox, influenza, shingles, herpes, rabies, polio, ebola, hanta fever, AIDS, and the common cold, amongst others. Regardless of the type of tissue or organ affected, all viruses follow the same basic steps to infect host cells. Once in contact with host cells viruses release their genetic material into the cell followed by genome replication, production of viral proteins, assembly of the virus particle and egress from the infected cell. Viruses disrupt normal host cell processes to facilitate their replication/assembly by re-directing cellular machinery for viral transcription, translation, assembly, release and by inhibiting antiviral responses.
Regulated nuclear transport of macromolecules through the nuclear pore complex, the only means of transport across the nuclear membrane, is essential for normal cell function and effective antiviral response. Many viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, disrupt or exploit the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking pathways in host cells. Cytoplasmic viruses exploit the host cell nucleocytoplasmic trafficking machinery to access nuclear functions and/or disrupt nuclear transport, while several DNA viruses use the trafficking pathways to enable the export of their components into the cytoplasm; yet others complete their assembly within the nucleus and use nuclear export pathways to access the cytoplasm. Indeed, the many and varied interactions of viruses and viral proteins with nucleocytoplasmic trafficking components have been invaluable in pathway discovery. Importantly, mounting evidence suggests that these interactions play essential roles in virus replication/assembly and hence may be key to understanding the pathophysiology of viral diseases.
Cancer:
Changes in nuclear structures and the consequent impact on nuclear transport pathways have been linked with several cancers and in some, are associated with metastasis. Many viruses associated with cancer, e.g., cytomegalovirus, are known to exploit the cell’s nuclear transport pathways, and increasing literature supports a link between virus-induced changes and carcinogenesis and metastasis.
This Frontiers Research Topic is dedicated to the importance of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking to viral pathogenesis. We welcome original research articles, opinions, perspectives, methods, and reviews on but not limited to the following topics:
• The current advances on viral interactions with host cell nucleocytoplasmic transport
• Interactions of viruses and viral proteins with nucleocytoplasmic trafficking components
• Potential development of therapeutic strategies to combat virus and host interaction, as well as subsequent pathogenesis, such as the development of cancer.
