Can virophages be used for management of viral infections?

Abstract

Virophages parasitizing giant viruses have been reported in the members of Kingdom Protista. Hyperparasites such as bacteriophages and predators have been used to control bacterial infections and insect pests, respectively. Presently, it is proposed to use the virophages for management of viral infections in humans and animals, especially in terminally ill patients with grave prognosis. It is hypothesised that the use of appropriate virophage will reduce the viral load and promote host cell survival. The testing of hypothesis involves in vitro and in vivo experiments after isolation of candidate virophages through a large scale screening of environmental and clinical samples. Critical challenges will be to identify suitable virophages-viruses pairs that could be associated with mammalian cells of medical and veterinary importance and assessment of their combined interactions with host. If suitably developed, virophage therapy opens new avenues for treatment of acute and slow viral infections, especially in cases where therapeutic managemental options are limited. However, there are major concerns regarding limited understanding of virophage biology, functions of several proteins coded in its genome, chances of integration with host genomes and its implications.