Abstract
Arthropod-borne viruses contribute significantly to global mortality and morbidity in humans and animals. These viruses are mainly transmitted between susceptible vertebrate hosts by hematophagous arthropod vectors, especially mosquitoes. Recently, there has been substantial attention for a novel group of viruses, referred to as insect-specific viruses (ISVs) which are exclusively maintained in mosquito populations. Recent discoveries of novel insect-specific viruses over the past years generated a great interest not only in their potential use as vaccine and diagnostic platforms but also as novel biological control agents due to their ability to modulate arbovirus transmission. While arboviruses infect both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, the replication of insect-specific viruses is restricted in vertebrates at multiple stages of virus replication. The vertebrate restriction factors include the genetic elements of ISVs (structural and non-structural genes and the untranslated terminal regions), vertebrate host factors (agonists and antagonists), and the temperature-dependent microenvironment. A better understanding of these bottlenecks is thus warranted. In this review, we explore these factors and the complex interplay between ISVs and their hosts contributing to this host restriction phenomenon.
Highlights
Arthropod-borne viruses have become a serious and significant threat to human and animal health due to urban crowding, international mobility, and lack of efficient vector control programs
The discovery of a wide variety of ISVs within the mosquito microbiome led to the suggestion that some insect-specific viruses over time gained the ability to expand their tropism from a single host to dual hosts [6]
The mechanisms by which viruses can expand their host range are still largely unknown, and further studies are required to clarify to what extent the genetic properties of ISVs are contributing to vertebrate restriction
Summary
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) have become a serious and significant threat to human and animal health due to urban crowding, international mobility, and lack of efficient vector control programs. Arboviruses are maintained by cross-species transmission between vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and biting midges. Arboviruses, especially those transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), yellow fever virus (YFV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) contribute significantly to disease outbreaks and epidemics in human and animal populations [1]. Vector surveillance programs have primarily been oriented to monitor circulating arboviruses of clinical and veterinary importance These programs surpassed a novel group of viruses referred to as insect-specific viruses (ISVs) that have been identified as a component of the insect microbiome [2]. In detail, the viral and host factors contributing to ISV vertebrate restriction at different stages of the virus replication cycle
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