Open AccessInsights into the Pathogenesis of Varicella Viruses
Author(s) -
Océane Sorel,
Ilhem Messaoudi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
current clinical microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 16
ISSN - 2196-5471
DOI - 10.1007/s40588-019-00119-2
Subject(s) - chickenpox , pathogenesis , virus , varicella zoster virus , immunology , immune system , virology , viral pathogenesis , virus latency , lytic cycle , biology , herpesviridae , medicine , viral disease , viral replication
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a highly contagious, neurotropic alpha herpes virus that causes varicella (chickenpox). VZV establishes lifelong latency in the sensory ganglia from which it can reactivate to induce herpes zoster (HZ), a painful disease that primarily affects older individuals and those who are immune-suppressed. Given that VZV infection is highly specific to humans, developing a reliable in vivo model that recapitulates the hallmarks of VZV infection has been challenging. Simian Varicella Virus (SVV) infection in nonhuman primates reproduces the cardinal features of VZV infections in humans and allows the study of varicella virus pathogenesis in the natural host. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge about genomic and virion structure of varicelloviruses as well as viral pathogenesis and antiviral immune responses during acute infection, latency and reactivation. We also examine the immune evasion mechanisms developed by varicelloviruses to escape the host immune responses and the current vaccines available for protecting individuals against chickenpox and herpes zoster.