Immunology

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Understanding immunity to viruses therefore encompasses many, if not nearly all aspects of cell biology and immunology. A positive trend of the past twenty years of viral research is that the connection between viruses and innate cellular anti-viral mechanisms has cemented virology as an important sub-discipline of cell biology, and converted many virologists into at least honorary immunologists. The inherent simplicity of viruses and their marked tendency towards robust expression of their proteome and flagrant manipulation of host cells and immunity, make them superb tools to make basic discoveries.

Pragmatically, basic research in viral immunology provides the foundation for improving and developing new anti-viral vaccines and therapies. Recent outbreaks of MERs, Ebola and Zika viruses provide a pointed reminder of the threat that rapidly evolving viruses pose to human health and even existence, and underscore the importance of having a sufficient understanding of virus host interactions to quickly develop vaccines.

This issue of Current Opinion in Virology features eight outstanding reviews that summarize current knowledge of a number of the immune hurdles to viral replication. The immune system can be broadly, if imprecisely divided into innate vs. adaptive elements. Innate immunity is generally immediate and agent non-specific. Adaptive immunity is based on the functions of B and T cells, which due to their high antigen specificity, exist in relatively small numbers at the start of infection of a naïve host, and need nearly a week of exceedingly rapid division to attain fighting strength (four to six doublings per day, for six days geometrically increases their numbers up to 16 million-fold).