Role of enhanced receptor engagement in the evolution of a pandemic acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis virus.

ABSTRACT: Acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) is a painful, contagious eye disease, with millions of cases in the last decades. Coxsackievirus A24 (CV-A24) was not originally associated with human disease, but in 1970 a pathogenic "variant" (CV-A24v) emerged, which is now the main cause of AHC. Initially, this variant circulated only in Southeast Asia, but it later spread worldwide, accounting for numerous AHC outbreaks and two pandemics. While both CV-A24 variant and nonvariant strains still circulate in humans, only variant strains cause AHC for reasons that are yet unknown. Since receptors are important determinants of viral tropism, we set out to map the CV-A24 receptor repertoire and establish whether changes in receptor preference have led to the increased pathogenicity and rapid spread of

SUBMITTER: Baggen J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5777043 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature