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Opioid substitution and syringes exchange programs have drastically reduced hepatitis C virus (HCV) spread in France but HCV sexual transmission in men having sex with men (MSM) has recently arisen as a significant public health concern. The fact that the virus is transmitting in a heterogeneous population, with different transmission routes, makes prevalence and incidence rates poorly informative. However, additional insights can be gained by analyzing virus phylogenies inferred from dated genetic sequence data. By combining a phylodynamics approach based on Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) and an original transmission model, we estimate key epidemiological parameters of an ongoing HCV epidemic among MSMs in Lyon (France). We show that this new epidemic is largely independent of the previously observed non-MSM HCV epidemics and that its doubling time is ten times lower (0.44 years versus 4.37 years). These results have practical implications for HCV control and illustrate the additional information provided by virus genomics in public health.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009916 | DOI Listing |
PLoS Pathog
September 2025
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exhibits a narrow species tropism, causing robust infections only in humans and experimentally inoculated chimpanzees. While many host factors and restriction factors are known, many more likely remain unknown, which has limited the development of mouse or other small animal models for HCV. One putative restriction factor, the black flying fox orthologue of receptor transporter protein 4 (RTP4), was previously shown to potently inhibit viral genome replication of several ER-replicating RNA viruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatitis C (HCV) infection is a major global health challenge, with particularly high prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the Eastern European and Central Asian region (EECA). While the country of Georgia has made major progress in reducing overall HCV prevalence, less is known about HCV reinfection rates and risk factors for reinfection among PWID. In this study, we aimed to: (1) estimate HCV reinfection rates and (2) identify risk factors associated with HCV reinfection among PWID.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Oncol Pharm Pract
September 2025
Department of Research & Development, Squad Medicine and Research (SMR), Amadalavalasa, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Cancer vaccines represent a transformative shift in oncology, aiming to prevent malignancies or treat established cancers by training the immune system to recognize tumor-specific or tumor-associated antigens. This review explores the diverse platforms and mechanisms supporting cancer vaccines, ranging from prophylactic vaccines such as HPV and hepatitis B vaccines that have significantly reduced virus-related cancers to therapeutic vaccines like Sipuleucel-T and T-VEC that extend survival in prostate cancer and melanoma. Vaccine types are classified, and delivery platforms including mRNA, peptide, dendritic cell and viral vector-based approaches are examined alongside pivotal clinical trial outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Virol
September 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India.
High morbidity and mortality associated with human β-coronavirus (CoV) infection highlight the need to determine host responses to infection and develop anti-viral therapies. Gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC), particularly involving Connexin43 (Cx43), is vital for maintaining central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis, and disruption of GJIC is a well-documented pathogenic mechanism among β-coronaviruses. Specifically, murine β-coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV-A59) inoculation in the mouse brain causes acute-stage CNS viral spread and chronic neuroinflammatory demyelination while causing pronounced downregulation of Cx43 at the acute stage, reflecting a critical role in CNS pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Spectr
September 2025
The School of Clinical Medicine, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global health burden. While interferon-alpha (IFNα) therapy demonstrates antiviral and immunomodulatory effects, reliable prognostic markers for sustained response are needed. Transaminases, hematological parameters, and cytokines may serve as potential predictors, but their dynamic changes during IFNα therapy remain poorly characterized.
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