Abstract
For the past two decades, scientists from around the world, working on different aspects of foamy virus (FV) research, have gathered in different research institutions almost every two years to present their recent results in formal talks, to discuss their ongoing studies informally, and to initiate fruitful collaborations. In this report we review the 2014 anniversary conference to share the meeting summary with the virology community and hope to arouse interest by other researchers to join this exciting field. The topics covered included epidemiology, virus molecular biology, and immunology of FV infection in non-human primates, cattle, and humans with zoonotic FV infections, as well as recent findings on endogenous FVs. Several topics focused on virus replication and interactions between viral and cellular proteins. Use of FV in biomedical research was highlighted with presentations on using FV vectors for gene therapy and FV proteins as scaffold for vaccine antigen presentation. On behalf of the FV community, this report also includes a short tribute to commemorate Prof. Axel Rethwilm, one of the leading experts in the field of retrovirology and foamy viruses, who passed away 29 July 2014.
Highlights
The series of foamy virus (FV) conferences, organized biennially since 1994, have been a unique and important international forum devoted to progress and achievements in FV research
Khan (Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA) opened the session by introducing the audience to FV infections, which are endemic in many species all over the world, and presented data from her laboratory regarding the co-infection of simian FV (SFV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in primates
Her presentation summarized the existing knowledge about exogenous and endogenous FVs, experimental animal models to study the replication of FVs, and the influence of naturally occurring SFV infection on SIV disease progression in the Macaca mulatta model
Summary
The series of foamy virus (FV) conferences, organized biennially since 1994, have been a unique and important international forum devoted to progress and achievements in FV research. Such meetings have provided attendees an opportunity for scientific exchange of recent data and ideas as well as discussions on all aspects of FVs including FV infections of natural hosts and zoonosis, molecular biology, vector development and host-virus interactions. FV topics and join us at the 11th International Foamy Virus Conference, which is being planned to be held in Paris, France in 2016. For further reading we strongly suggest a recent and comprehensive overview of all relevant aspects of FV biology published in a Special Issue on FVs in Viruses [1]
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