Viral evolution during primary infection in immunocompromised hosts.

ABSTRACT: The immune response to viral infection is a delicate balance. By perturbing this balance, immunodeficiencies are expected to influence within-host viral evolution. Indeed, the presence of immunocompromised hosts has been argued to be a source of novel viral variants in some infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2. However, these arguments rest upon between-host models and so the role of immunodeficiencies on within-host evolution in primary infections is poorly understood. Using a mechanistic immunological model, here we consider how different immunodeficiencies shape the orchestration of the immune response during primary infection. We study how this alters the viral fitness landscape, thus speeding and slowing viral evolution. We show that during acute infections, while immunodeficienc

SUBMITTER: Craig M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12935273 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature