Antiviral T and B Cell Immunity

Dear Colleagues,

1. The invasion of the human body by a pathogen (or only virus) triggers a cascade of immune reactions, ultimately leading to the development of adaptive specific immune responses aiming to achieve pathogen restriction and elimination. The generation of antigen-specific CD4/CD8 and B cell responses represent the two branches that the immune system utilizes to counteract the invasion of a virus. Although the development and function of the immune cell subsets involved in this process have been extensively studied in appropriate animal models, the corresponding immune reactions, programming of relevant cells, and their interaction with the tissue microenvironment where these reactions are taking place are less understood in human health and disease. Animal models validate but do not extrapolate directly to humans. The lack of relevant human material is a major restriction factor for the comprehensive study of such immune reactivity. Another major restriction factor is the lack of longitudinal samples even from blood; therefore, the time-dependent development of such responses is challenging. The comparative analysis of immune responses across different viral diseases and compared to other chronic inflammatory diseases like cancer could provide valuable information for the development and adaptiveness of antiviral responses in different inflammatory environments.
2. The aim of this Special Issue is to present the latest developments regarding the dynamics of human antiviral immune responses and how this knowledge could fuel the further development of novel vaccine strategies. The comprehensive understanding of relevant immune cell phenotypes and their function, molecular programming, and spatial positioning at the tissue level will significantly improve our knowledge for their development and will potentially provide novel molecules/pathways that could be used for the discovery of novel strategies aiming towards in vivo generation/manipulation and the elimination of viruses like HIV.
3. Suggested themes and article types for submissions.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but not limited to, the following:

1. Vaccine-induced antiviral responses: phenotypes, molecular programming, tissue dynamics.
2. Natural infection-induced antiviral responses, especially ones focused on secondary lymphoid organs and how that could inform vaccine development.
3. Novel technologies for the investigation of antiviral responses/immune dynamics, with emphasis on their spatial positioning.
4. Studies on relevant animal models, NHP, and humanized mice.
5. Comparative studies of immune dynamics between different diseases.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Constantinos Petrovas
Dr. Ashish Arunkumar Sharma
Dr. Susan Pereira Ribeiro
Guest Editors

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• virus
• adaptive immunity
• pathogenesis
• vaccines