Abstract
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are important human respiratory pathogens which cause seasonal or periodic endemic infections. IAV can result in severe or fatal clinical complications including pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. Treatment of IAV infections is complicated because the virus can evade host immunity through antigenic drifts and antigenic shifts, to establish infections making new treatment options desirable. Annexins (ANXs) are a family of calcium and phospholipid binding proteins with immunomodulatory roles in viral infections, lung injury, and inflammation. A current understanding of the role of ANXs in modulating IAV infection and host responses will enable the future development of more effective antiviral therapies. This review presents a comprehensive understanding of the advances made in the field of ANXs, in particular, ANXA1 and IAV research and highlights the importance of ANXs as a suitable target for IAV therapy.
Highlights
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Inflammation Pharmacology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology
A current understanding of the role of ANXs in modulating Influenza A viruses (IAVs) infection and host responses will enable the future development of more effective antiviral therapies
This review presents a comprehensive understanding of the advances made in the field of ANXs, in particular, Annexin A1 (ANXA1) and IAV research and highlights the importance of ANXs as a suitable target for IAV therapy
Summary
Influenza viruses (IV) are one of the most common contributors to human respiratory infections in terms of mortality and morbidity. An estimate of 3–5 million individuals suffer from severe influenza infection annually (WHO, 2018), with 290,000–650,000 resulting in deaths worldwide (Mata et al, 2011; WHO, 2018). Around 5% of adults and 20% of children worldwide develop symptomatic IAV or IBV each year (Nicholson et al, 2003). IAV-related complications such as bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, and pneumonia may arise, which can result in organ failure and death (CDC, 2018). The recurrence of such seasonal influenza epidemics is primarily due to the constant mutation of the virus, reducing the effectiveness of vaccines while increasing human-human transmission (Petrova and Russell, 2018). The rat race between vaccine development and virus evolution makes preventive interventions and management of IAV outbreaks clinically challenging
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