Editorial, J Virol Antivir Res Vol: 1 Issue: 1
Fishing Beyond the Peer: Future Omic Analyses of Virus-Host Interactions
| Andrea L. Kroeker1,2,3, Alicia R. Berard2,4 and Kevin M.Coombs1,2,3,4* | |
| 1Manitoba Institute of Child Health, Room 641 John Buhler Research Center University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3E 3P4 | |
| 2Manitoba Center for Proteomics and Systems Biology, Room 799 John Buhler Research Centre University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3E 3P4 | |
| 3Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3E 0J9 | |
| 4Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada R3E 0J9 | |
| Corresponding author : Dr. Kevin M. Coombs Faculty of Medicine, Winnipeg,University of Manitoba, Canada Tel: 204-789-3976; E-mail: kcoombs@ cc.umanitoba.ca |
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| Received: June 14, 2012 Accepted: June 15, 2012 Published: June 17, 2012 doi:10.4172/2324-8955.1000e101 | |
| Citation: Kroeker AL, Berard RA, Coombs KM (2012) Fishing Beyond the Peer: Future Omic Analyses of Virus–Host Interactions. J Virol Antivir Res 1:1. doi: 10.4172/2324-8955.1000e101 |
Abstract
Fishing Beyond the Peer: Future Omic Analyses of Virus-Host Interactions
There has been considerable progress made in the study of viruses and how they infect, replicate and spread inside hosts and host cells. Much is known about how viruses change their genome and proteins throughout their life cycles. However, our understanding of how the host cell itself changes during the virus life cycle is less well developed. Both genomic and proteomic changes are expected to occur during virus propagation, and genomic analyses of the cellular ‘transcriptome’ have been especially fruitful during the past decade. However, our understanding of host protein responses is even more poorly developed. These –omic responses can reflect particular host metabolic pathways, such as immunological strategies, that are ctivated in response to the infecting virus.
| There has been considerable progress made in the study of viruses and how they infect, replicate and spread inside hosts and host cells. Much is known about how viruses change their genome and proteins throughout their life cycles. However, our understanding of how the host cell itself changes during the virus life cycle is less well developed. Both genomic and proteomic changes are expected to occur during virus propagation, and genomic analyses of the cellular 'transcriptome' have been especially fruitful during the past decade. However, our understanding of host protein responses is even more poorly developed. These –omic responses can reflect particular host metabolic pathways, such as immunological strategies, that are activated in response to the infecting virus. These genomic and proteomic changes also may suggest ways in which the infecting virus alters the cell components to aid its propagation. By studying not only how the virus changes during infection, but how the host responds, one might determine which of these responses are important for viral survival, and exploit them for antiviral purposes. | |
| One area of research that is proving particularly rewarding for identifying novel antiviral strategies is the detection of host factors that are essential for viral replication and that contribute to viral pathogenesis. Recent studies have utilized genome-wide RNAi screens [1,2] as well as strategies to detect interactions between virus and host proteins such as yeast 2-hybrid and proteomic studies of protein complexes [3-5]. Many studies have also begun to paint a clearer picture of the host's innate immune response to virus infections. For example, microarrays have excelled at establishing profiles of genes and miRNAs involved in inflammation, cytokine signaling and interferon signaling in response to virus [6-8] and can be complemented by quantitative proteomic methods such as SILAC, iTRAQ and 2D-DIGE [9-12]. The main issue resulting from the large scale –omics studies is the abundance of information generated from these experiments and the lack of a common-based repertoire of knowledge that can be referred to during analysis. | |
| These high through-put genomics and proteomics studies are being utilized mutually to answer the question of what is going on in a cell during viral infections. With appropriate knowledge based databases, it will be possible to begin comparing these responses and interactions between different virus strains and virus families in order to determine whether they activate similar innate immune pathways. Since many viruses encode proteins that confer certain degrees of resistance to these host factors, it may also be useful to determine the extent to which these host responses are effective in controlling virus propagation. Finally, determining the effect of different types of antivirals on the host immune system may also prove beneficial in leading to more targeted therapeutic approaches [13]. | |
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