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BMC Genomics 2022 May 24;23(1):396. Epub 2022 May 24.

Federal Center for Animal Health, Vladimir, Russia.

Background: Since the first description of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) in Africa in the 1920's, it has brazenly spread beyond Africa into the Middle East, Europe and most recently Asia. In 2017 the first atypical LSDV recombinant strain was reported in Russia, composed of both a live-attenuated Neethling vaccine strain and Kenyan vaccine strain. An increase in LSDV research enabled a public release of numerous full genome sequences of unique recombinant LSDV strains from Kazakhstan, Russia, China and Vietnam. Read More

Open Vet J 2022 Mar-Apr;12(2):273-280

The Veterinary Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, El-Shohada, Moawwad, Qesm Awel AZ Zagazig, 44519, Egypt.

Background: Orf is a highly contagious viral skin disease in sheep and goats caused by Orf virus (ORFV) in the genus Parapoxvirus. Although sheep and goats are considered an essential food resource, particularly in Africa, ORFV infection represents an increasing challenge to animal productivity causing high economic losses.

Aim: This study aimed to detect and characterize the ORFV in suspected clinically diseased goats in two neighboring Egyptian governorates, Al-Sharkia and Ismailia, flocks during April 2020 and July 2021by using PCR and phylogenetic analysis of partial B2L sequence. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2022 May 18:156033. Epub 2022 May 18.

Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China. Electronic address:

Viruses are the most abundant organisms in aquatic environments. Recent advances of viral metagenomic have greatly expanded our understanding of aquatic viral communities. However, little is known about the difference of viral communities and driving factors in freshwater lake. Read More

Annu Rev Virol 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; email:

Poxviruses, of which vaccinia virus is the prototype, are a large family of double-stranded DNA viruses that replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm of infected cells. This physical and genetic autonomy from the host cell nucleus necessitates that these viruses encode most, if not all, of the proteins required for replication in the cytoplasm. In this review, we follow the life of the viral genome through space and time to address some of the unique challenges that arise from replicating a 195-kb DNA genome in the cytoplasm. Read More

J Gen Virol 2022 May;103(5)

Department of Microbial Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.

Modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) is an attenuated strain of vaccinia virus (VACV), a dsDNA virus that replicates its genome in the cytoplasm and as a result is canonically sensed by the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) and its downstream stimulator of interferon genes (STING). MVA has a highly restricted host range due to major deletions in its genome including inactivation of immunomodulatory genes, only being able to grow in avian cells and the hamster cell line BHK21. Here we studied the interplay between MVA and the cGAS/STING DNA in this permissive cell line and determined whether manipulation of this axis could impact MVA replication and cell responses. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2022 May 18:e0027222. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA.

Poxviruses have large DNA genomes, and they are able to infect multiple vertebrate and invertebrate animals, including humans. Despite the eradication of smallpox, poxvirus infections still remain a significant public health concern. Vaccinia virus (VV) is the prototypic member in the family and it has been used extensively for different prophylactic applications, including the generation of vaccines against multiple infectious diseases and/or for oncolytic treatment. Read More

Trends Biochem Sci 2022 May 15. Epub 2022 May 15.

Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Therapy Research Center (CTRC), Theodor Boveri-Institute, University of Wuerzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Wuerzburg, Germany; Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany. Electronic address:

In eukaryotic cells, the process of gene expression is confined to the nucleus and enabled by multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs). Many viruses make use of the host cellular gene expression apparatus during infection, and hence transfer their genome at least transiently to the host nucleus. However, poxviruses have evolved a different strategy to propagate. Read More

J Immunother Cancer 2022 05;10(5)

Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Background: Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) represents a method to treat a variety of solid tumors by inducing antitumor immune responses. While this therapy has been extremely efficacious in preclinical models, translating these successes into human patients has proven challenging. One of the major reasons for these failures is the existence of immune-regulatory mechanisms, which dampen the efficacy of virally induced antitumor immunity. Read More

Uisahak 2022 Apr;31(1):297-331

Institute of World and Global History, Ewha Womans University.

This article re-examines from a new perspective the efforts of James Smith (1771-1841), a Maryland doctor, to eradicate smallpox in the United States. As one of the few successful cowpox inoculators at the turn of the nineteenth century, Smith recognized the necessity for a public vaccine institution that could ensure the safe production and continuous preservation and circulation of vaccine matter. Thus, he devoted himself to creating statewide and national vaccine institutions funded by the state and federal governments. Read More

ACS Chem Biol 2022 May 16. Epub 2022 May 16.

Division of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 5, Warsaw 02-093, Poland.

Vaccinia virus (VACV) represents a family of poxviruses, which possess their own decapping machinery as a part of their strategy to eliminate host mRNAs and evade the innate immune response. D9 is one of the two encoded VACV decapping enzymes that is responsible for cap removal from the 5' end of both host mRNA transcripts and viral double-stranded RNAs. Little is known about the structural requirements for D9 inhibition by small molecules. Read More

Pol J Vet Sci 2022 Mar;25(1):137-147

Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, 38000.

Buffalopox (BPX) is a highly contagious disease that causes high morbidity and production losses in buffaloes. During this study, seroprevalence, effect of various associated risk factors, and pathological studies of BPX were recorded in the Punjab province. A total of 97 blood samples and 63 scabs were collected from clinically pox suspected buffaloes. Read More

Clin Transl Immunology 2022 8;11(5):e1392. Epub 2022 May 8.

Transgene SA Illkirch-Graffenstaden France.

Objective: Antitumor viral vaccines, and more particularly poxviral vaccines, represent an active field for clinical development and translational research. To improve the efficacy and treatment outcome, new viral vectors are sought, with emphasis on their abilities to stimulate innate immunity, to display tumor antigens and to induce a specific T-cell response.

Methods: We screened for a new poxviral backbone with improved innate and adaptive immune stimulation using IFN-α secretion levels in infected PBMC cultures as selection criteria. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 27;13:840976. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Center for AIDS Research, and Children's Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.

A better understanding of the impact of early innate immune responses after vaccine priming on vaccine-elicited adaptive immune responses could inform rational design for effective HIV vaccines. The current study compared the whole blood molecular immune signatures of a 3M-052-SE adjuvanted HIV Env protein vaccine to a regimen combining the adjuvanted Env protein with simultaneous administration of a modified Vaccinia Ankara vector expressing HIV Env in infant rhesus macaques at days 0, 1, and 3 post vaccine prime. Both vaccines induced a rapid innate response, evident by elevated inflammatory plasma cytokines and altered gene expression. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022 May 12;119(20):e2115354119. Epub 2022 May 12.

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95618.

SignificanceMyxoma virus (MYXV) is benign in the natural brush rabbit host but causes a fatal disease in European rabbits. Here, we demonstrate that MYXV M156 inhibited brush rabbit protein kinase R (bPKR) more efficiently than European rabbit PKR (ePKR). Because ePKR was not completely inhibited by M156, there was a depletion of short-half-life proteins like the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) inhibitor IκBα, concomitant NF-κB activation and NF-κB target protein expression in ePKR-expressing cells. Read More

J Virol 2022 May 11:e0039822. Epub 2022 May 11.

Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Poxvirus proteins remodel signaling throughout the cell by targeting host enzymes for inhibition and redirection. Recently, it was discovered that early in infection the vaccinia virus (VACV) B12 pseudokinase copurifies with the cellular kinase VRK1, a proviral factor, in the nucleus. Although the formation of this complex correlates with inhibition of cytoplasmic VACV DNA replication and likely has other downstream signaling consequences, the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Read More

Vaccine 2022 May 6;40(25):3452-3454. Epub 2022 May 6.

University Museum System of Siena (SIMUS), History of Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

The current health emergency caused by COVID-19 disease shows several similarities with well-known epidemics of the past. The knowledge of their management and overcoming could give us useful tools to face the present COVID-19 pandemic. The Bourbon king Ferdinand I planned the first free large-scale mass vaccination programme conducted in Italy and one of the first in Europe to counteract smallpox. Read More

Structure 2022 May;30(5):653-654

Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:

The decapping enzyme D9 acts on host mRNA and viral double-stranded RNA to promote viral replication in host cells. In this issue of Structure, Peters et al. (2022) present crystal structures of mGDP-bound D9 to highlight how a conventional fold is adapted to target a wide variety of RNA substrates. Read More

Cell Mol Life Sci 2022 May 3;79(5):275. Epub 2022 May 3.

Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, USA.

In response to infection or vaccination, the immune system initially responds non-specifically to the foreign insult (innate) and then develops a specific response to the foreign antigen (adaptive). The programming of the immune response is shaped by the dispersal and delivery of antigens. The antigen size, innate immune activation and location of the insult all determine how antigens are handled. Read More

Virus Res 2022 Jul 30;315:198795. Epub 2022 Apr 30.

Antiviral Resistance Lab, Research & Development Unit, Infectious Diseases Department, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge, IP, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal; Host-Pathogen Interactions Unit, Research Institute for Medicines, iMed-ULisboa, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address:

Vaccination prevents and reduces the severity of influenza virus infections. Continuous evolution of influenza hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) supports the virus to evade pre-existing immunity, which demands vaccines to be reformulated every year. Incorporation of polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1) viral RNA (vRNA) of the same origin of HA and NA vRNA has been observed in previous pandemic viruses and occasionally reported for influenza A vaccine prototype strains of prior seasons. Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2022 Apr 30. Epub 2022 Apr 30.

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.

Poxviruses (family: Poxviridae) infect many avian species, causing several disease outcomes, the most common of which are proliferative lesions on the legs, feet, and/or head. Few avian studies of poxvirus to date have combined molecular and ecological analyses to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the identity and distribution of the disease in a population. Here, we describe patterns of poxvirus infection in an urban population of house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) in Arizona (USA) and use high-throughput sequencing to determine the genome sequence of the virus. Read More

Microb Pathog 2022 May 22;166:105541. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Electron Microscope Research Unit, Health Sciences Research Center, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a devastating, emerging viral disease of cattle. It causes significant economic losses due to trade restrictions that are placed on infected animals and the biological effects of the disease: infertility, dramatic loss in milk production, induction of abortion and mortality. It is caused by lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the Poxviridae family. Read More

Viruses 2022 04 13;14(4). Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando M. Paiva, 87, São Paulo 05508-270, Brazil.

Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is a retroviral pathogen capable of infecting several avian hosts and is associated with immunosuppression, anemia, proventriculitis, neoplasia, and runting-stunting syndrome. Its genome contains the three major genes, , , and , and two flanking long terminal repeat (LTR) regions. Complete genome sequences of REV are limited in terms of geographical origin. Read More

Viruses 2022 04 8;14(4). Epub 2022 Apr 8.

Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando M. Paiva, 87, São Paulo 05508-270, Brazil.

Avipoxvirus affects chickens and wild birds, and it is characterized by lesions on the nonfeathered parts of the body (the cutaneous form), or necrotic lesions in the upper respiratory tract (the diphtheritic form). In poultry farming, avian pox is usually controlled by live attenuated vaccines. However, there have been many reports of outbreaks, even in flocks of vaccinated birds. Read More

Viruses 2022 03 31;14(4). Epub 2022 Mar 31.

Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Since September 2020, Germany has experienced the first ever outbreak of African swine fever (ASF). The first known cases occurred exclusively in wild boar in forest areas in Brandenburg and Saxony; in July 2021, infected domestic pigs were also confirmed for the first time. As wild boar are considered the main reservoir for the virus in the European region, an effective interruption of this infection chain is essential. Read More

Cells 2022 Apr 14;11(8). Epub 2022 Apr 14.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.

Individuals with underlying chronic skin conditions, notably atopic dermatitis (AD), are disproportionately affected by infections from members of the herpesviridae, papovaviridae, and poxviridae families. Many patients with AD experience recurrent, widespread cutaneous viral infections that can lead to viremia, serious organ complications, and even death. Little is known about how the type 2 inflammatory environment observed in the skin of AD patients impacts the susceptibility of epidermal cells (keratinocytes) to viral pathogens. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2022 04 21;18(4):e1009854. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Interactions between pathogens, host microbiota and the immune system influence many physiological and pathological processes. In the 20th century, widespread dermal vaccination with vaccinia virus (VACV) led to the eradication of smallpox but how VACV interacts with the microbiota and whether this influences the efficacy of vaccination are largely unknown. Here we report that intradermal vaccination with VACV induces a large increase in the number of commensal bacteria in infected tissue, which enhance recruitment of inflammatory cells, promote tissue damage and influence the host response. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022 04 11;119(16):e2120048119. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.

Heritable symbionts display a wide variety of transmission strategies to travel from one insect generation to the next. Parasitoid wasps, one of the most diverse insect groups, maintain several heritable associations with viruses that are beneficial for wasp survival during their development as parasites of other insects. Most of these beneficial viral entities are strictly transmitted through the wasp germline as endogenous viral elements within wasp genomes. Read More

J Virol 2022 May 12;96(9):e0038922. Epub 2022 Apr 12.

Viral Diseases Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canadagrid.415368.d, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Increasing cases of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections from immunization with current spike protein-based COVID-19 vaccines highlight the need to develop alternative vaccines using different platforms and/or antigens. In this study, we expressed SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins based on a novel vaccinia virus (VACV) ACAM2000 platform (rACAM2000). In this platform, the vaccinia virus host range and immunoregulatory gene E3L was deleted to make the virus attenuated and to enhance innate immune responses, and another host range gene, K3L, was replaced with a poxvirus ortholog gene, taterapox virus 037 (TATV037), to make virus replication competent in both hamster and human cells. Read More

J Virol 2022 May 11;96(9):e0213721. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolinagrid.259828.c, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

Vaccinia virus (VV), the prototypic poxvirus, encodes a repertoire of proteins responsible for the metabolism of its large dsDNA genome. Previous work has furthered our understanding of how poxviruses replicate and recombine their genomes, but little is known about whether the poxvirus genome undergoes DNA repair. Our studies here are aimed at understanding how VV responds to exogenous DNA damage introduced by UV irradiation. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 Apr 8;12(1):5961. Epub 2022 Apr 8.

Unité Des Virus Émergents (UVE: Aix-Marseille Univ-IRD 190-Inserm 1207), Marseille, France.