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On July 24, 2024, Professor Cheng Gong's team from the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Tsinghua University published an invited review article titled "Exploiting Hosts and Vectors: Viral Strategies for Facilitating Transmission" in the journal EMBO Reports. This review summarizes the complex molecular strategies that promote the spread of viruses by manipulating host-level behavioral interactions or regulating cell-level intercellular transmission, providing new insights for understanding the dynamics of viral transmission and formulating intervention strategies.
The review summarizes the multiple manipulation strategies employed by viruses to maintain their life cycles: First, viruses are able to alter the behaviour of arthropod vectors, such as changing feeding frequency and selection, thereby enhancing the ability of the virus to spread to new hosts. These changes can improve the ability of the virus to break through various barriers and increase the efficiency of transmission. For example, viruses can affect the feeding patterns of arthropods such as mosquitoes and flies, causing them to bite their hosts more often, increasing the chances of virus transmission. Infected hosts may exhibit significant behavioral changes, such as increased aggression, caused by the effects of the virus on the central nervous system. In this way, the virus not only improves the efficiency of replication within the host, but also increases the chance of spreading to other hosts. In addition, viruses are able to alter the host's body odor, which attracts more vector mosquitoes to bite and infect the host. This change in odor makes the infecting host easier to target vectors, increasing the efficiency of the virus in nature. Relevant studies have shown that in addition to promoting transmission by manipulating host behavior, viruses also ensure efficient proliferation and infection in the host through cell-to-cell transmission. Cell-to-cell transmission is when the virus spreads directly from one infected cell to adjacent uninfected cells without being released extracellularly. This mode of transmission can effectively avoid the detection and clearance of the host immune system, and increase the efficiency of virus infection and transmission in the host. Through cell-to-cell transmission, the virus can infect more cells in a short period of time, enhancing its ability to replicate and spread within the host. For example, viruses can be infected and spread in the body by forming cell fusions or directly through the junctional structures of cells.
This review provides an outlook for important scientific questions for future research: The precise molecular mechanisms by which viruses manipulate host behavior, from the individual to the cellular level? How do these behavioural changes affect the dynamics of the spread of the virus? And how can targeted interventions be developed based on these findings? A better understanding of the complex molecular strategies by which viruses manipulate host and vector behavior to ensure their survival and spread will provide new perspectives for the development of more effective measures to prevent and control the spread of the virus.
图1：病毒利用宿主和媒介促进传播的机制示意图（Credit: EMBO Reports）
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-024-00214-6
Editor-in-charge|Explore Jun
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Article Source | BioArt”
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