Self-Replicating RNA Viruses
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "General Virology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 4894
Special Issue Editor
Interests: viral gene therapy; viral vaccines; gene expression using viral vectors; structural biology; epigenetics; nutrigenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Self-replicating RNA viruses possess a special feature of massive self-amplification of viral RNA in a broad range of mammalian and non-mammalian host cells, providing a high-level expression of heterologous genes. However, the expression is transient due to the non-integrating, rapidly degrading viral RNA genome. For this reason, self-replicating RNA viruses have been ideal for the prevention and therapy of infectious diseases and various cancers. In contrast, self-replicating RNA viruses are not suitable for the treatment of chronic diseases requiring long-term transgene expression. Among self-replicating RNA viruses, alphaviruses and flaviviruses possessing a single-stranded RNA genome of positive polarity have been frequently used. Likewise, the negative-stranded measles viruses and rhabdoviruses have also been utilized. Self-replicating RNA viruses have elicited robust target-specific immune responses and provided protection against challenges with infectious agents in preclinical animal studies. Moreover, immunization studies have demonstrated tumor-associated antigen-specific immune responses and protection against tumor challenges in animal tumor models. In a limited number of clinical trials, good safety and tolerability have been demonstrated in cancer patients although therapeutic efficacy needs to be improved through vector and dose optimization. Self-replicating RNA viruses possess wide flexibility as delivery vectors can be utilized as recombinant viral particles, RNA replicons or DNA replicons. Due to the RNA self-amplification, RNA replicons are superior to synthetic mRNA, meaning that similar immune response and protection can be achieved by using 100–1000-fold-lower RNA doses. Similarly, DNA replicons doses can be significantly reduced compared to conventional plasmid DNA. In the case of cancer therapy, oncolytic RNA viruses have demonstrated tumor-cell-specific replication leading to efficient tumor cell killing without causing harm to normal tissue. In summary, there is a huge potential of using self-replicating RNA viruses for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and various cancers.
Dr. Kenneth Lundstrom
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
