Introduction to Molecular Virology S
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ISSN 20790597, Russian Journal of Genetics: Applied Research, 2014, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 325–339. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2014. Original Russian Text © S.V. Netesov, N.A. Markovich, 2014, published in Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii, 2014, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 22–39. Introduction to Molecular Virology S. V. Netesova, b and N. A. Markovichb aNovosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia email: [email protected], [email protected] bState Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology Vector, Koltsovo, Novosibirsk oblast, Russia Received February 20, 2014; in final form, February 28, 2014 DOI: 10.1134/S2079059714040078 INTRODUCTION THE ROLE OF VARIOUS PATHOGENS IN THE ETIOLOGY OF DIFFERENT According to the data of the World Health Organi DISEASE TYPES zation (WHO), the share of mortality caused by infec tious and parasitic diseases considerably decreased The diagram in Fig. 3 shows the causes of child gas (approximately, by 15–20%; Fig. 1) versus the moral trointestinal diseases in developing countries ity of cardiovascular and cancer diseases, which (Kapikian, 1993). It is evident that rotaviruses account noticeably increased. Undoubtedly, the expansion of for 45% of such infections; astroviruses, for 7%; cali vaccination in developing and developed countries civiruses and adenoviruses, for 1% each; and the underlies this decrease in infectious and parasitic dis remaining infections are caused by bacteria and yet eases. As for the increase in cardiovascular and cancer unknown pathogens. Thus, viruses cause over 60% of mortalities, this is associated with an increase in the all gastrointestinal diseases in children in developing lifespan, so that people began to attain the age when countries. However, intestinal infections account for these diseases are prevalent. As for an increase in the only 2–3% of all human infectious diseases, whereas rate of the remaining mortality causes, this to a con the main human infections cause respiratory diseases. siderable degree is a sad side effect caused by the devel At the beginning of the 21st century, the etiological opment of our civilization, namely, an increase in the causes of such infections were investigated in Michi number of road traffic injuries, occupational acci gan, United States (Monto, 2002). It has emerged that dents, and casualties. the major part of these diseases is caused by rhinovi ruses (Fig. 4) followed by coronaviruses. The influenza Figure 2 shows the causes of mortality in Russia in virus is only the third in this list, parainfluenza and res 2000 and 2009 according to the Goskomstat (State piratory syncytial viruses are fourth, followed by bac Statistics Committee) of the Russian Federation. The teria, a small share of adenovirus infections, and the share of cardiovascular diseases declined over these group of undistinguished infections accounting for the 9 years, as well as the technogenic mortality, homi remaining 20%. Note that influenza is in third place cides, and suicides, whereas the share of cancer dis since this is only a respiratory infection for which vac eases increased. Similar to developed countries, infec cines are available and used. At the beginning of the tious diseases as a mortality cause in Russia are the 21st century, human metapneumoviruses were discov fifth in the list. However, the global ratio of mortality ered and characterized; these pathogens cause 5 to causes in general differs from that in Russia, since 12% of respiratory infections (Kahn, 2003; Hoogen threefourths of the world’s population lives in devel et al., 2003; Williams et al., 2004). Thus, it is likely that oping and undeveloped countries, where the mortality unknown infections in this diagram are by approxi of infectious diseases is still high. There is only one sig mately 25–50% determined by metapneumoviruses. nificant difference between Russia and several devel Correspondingly, viral pathogens cause over 70% of all oped countries, namely, the cardiovascular mortality the respiratory diseases, which is a slightly higher share in this country is considerably higher compared to compared to gastrointestinal diseases. cancer mortality in countries such as Japan, United States, and Norway, where these mortalities are almost equal. Thus, the mortality caused by infectious dis TORCH INFECTIONS eases in the countries with developed vaccination against infections and proper control over drinking TORCH infections are dangerous for pregnant water quality is the fifth in the list of mortality causes women and for the fetus. TORCH is an acronym for versus first position in countries not implementing toxoplasmosis, other agents, rubella, cytomegalovirus, these measures. and herpes simplex. 325 326 NETESOV, MARKOVICH 20 18 Infectious and parasitic diseases Cardiovascular diseases 16 Cancer diseases 14 Perinatal mortality 12 Chronic lung diseases 10 Maternal mortality 8 Other causes. 6 4 2 0 1992 2005 Fig. 1. Causes of mortality in the world in 1992 and 2005 (per population of million) according to the data published by WHO (http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/en/). 1400 Cardiovascular diseases 1200 External causes 1000 Cancer diseases Diseases of respiratory organs 800 Infectious diseases 600 Diseases of digestive organs Other diseases 400 200 0 2001 2009 Fig. 2. Causes of mortality in Russia in 2000 and 2009 (100000 population) according to the Goskomstat of the Russian Federa tion (www.gks.ru). The list of the “other” infections currently com hepatitis B and C viruses, hepatitis E virus, chlamydial prises parvovirus B19 (B19V), varicella zoster virus infections, syphilis, gonococcal infections, listeriosis, (VZV), West Nile virus, measles virus, enteroviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV, small adenoviruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), rodents being its host, has emerged to be teratogenic pathogen for humans), and, presumably, some other viruses and bacteria. Part of these agents causes seem Unknown ingly safe (for common people) respiratory and gas 17% trointestinal diseases, but all the TORCH infections Parasites are specifically dangerous to the fetus and pregnant 2% women. In particular, parvovirus B19 has attracted Other considerable attention in the past decades. This Rotaviruses pathogen is little known to the common population. bacteria 45% 5% In the countries where this virus was studied, it is Toxigenic referred to as the fifth disease of children. This infec Escherichia tion is of no considerable danger to adults and children coli 22% over 1 year old, but is most dangerous to pregnant Astroviruses women and the fetus, causing up to 11% of prenatal Adenoviruses 7% deaths and some other consequences. Another patho 5% gen, hepatitis E virus, causes 25% of the mortality rate Caliciviruses in pregnant women, considerably exceeding even the 1% mortality rate of smallpox. Recently, Central Asian, Fig. 3. Roles of various pathogens in the etiology of chil subtropical, and tropical countries have focused on dren’s gastrointestinal diseases in developing countries hepatitis E research. In the Novosibirsk oblast, the (according to Kapikian, 1993, pp. 627–630). hepatitis E virus is episodically met (two–three cases RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF GENETICS: APPLIED RESEARCH Vol. 4 No. 4 2014 INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR VIROLOGY 327 annually); only four such cases have been recorded Other over the past 10 years; all these cases were men, and it Unknown infections 1% Coronavirus is likely that these men had not passed this infection to 14% anybody. This group of TORCH infections needs 23% much more research attention, since the contributions Influenza of each pathogen to the cases of pregnancy failure in A and B Russia are still vague. Adenovirus 9% 2% Parainfluenza Bacteria 4% VIRUSES: CLASSIFICATION 8% AND DEFINITIONS The term virus in Latin means poison. There are several definitions of the virus; we have given two of the Respiratory definitions below: syncytial virus Rhinovirus —A virus is a microscopic particle composed of 4% 4% proteins, nucleic acids, and frequently, lipids (the lip ids originate from the host cell) able to infect cells of living organisms and reproduce in these cells; and Fig. 4. Etiology of respiratory diseases in Michigan, United States (Monto, 2002, pp. 4S–12S). —Viruses are obligatory intracellular organisms, most of which are deprived of their own of energy gen erating and proteinsynthesizing systems and, tion was issued in December 2011. The book weighs depending on their family, have different sets of ele approximately 6 kg; it comprises 3000 pages; and the ments required for the replication and transcription introduction explains that approximately onethird of systems. viruses have not been so far classified into families and The first definition is structural and the second orders, which needs to be done by researchers. one, functional; it is most likely that the latter will be The viral genomes may consist of DNA or RNA. amended, since giant viruses have been discovered, The DNA viruses may have either doublestranded or which have the elements of proteinsynthesizing and singlestranded DNA and may contain a lipid enve energyproducing systems; moreover, scientists are lope. Some families of human DNA viruses (and indi aware of only about 10% of the viruses existing in vidual families of the viruses exploited by humans) are nature. listed in Table 1. Bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoans, plants, ani The RNA viruses contain one unique family, the mals, and humans have their own viruses as obligate family of reoviruses,