Commentary on the Regulation of Viral Proteins in Autophagy Process

• Published in: BioMed research international Vol. 2014; no. 2014; pp. 1 - 8
• Main Authors: Cheng, Ching-Yuan, Chi, Pei-I, Liu, Hung-Jen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 01.01.2014; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Agricultural biotechnology; Animals; Antiviral Agents - chemistry; Autophagy; Biomedical research; Cell cycle; Cyclin-dependent kinases; Dengue fever; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Enzymes; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Infections; Kinases; Mice; Proteins; Regulation; Review; Signal Transduction; Viral infections; Viral Proteins - chemistry; Virus Diseases - virology; Viruses
• ISSN: 2314-6133; 2314-6141
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/962915

The ability to subvert intracellular antiviral defenses is necessary for virus to survive as its replication occurs only in the host cells. Viruses have to modulate cellular processes and antiviral mechanisms to their own advantage during the entire virus life cycle. Autophagy plays important roles in cell regulation. Its function is not only to catabolize aggregate proteins and damaged organelles for recycling but also to serve as innate immunity to remove intracellular pathogenic elements such as viruses. Nevertheless, some viruses have evolved to negatively regulate autophagy by inhibiting its formation. Even more, some viruses have employed autophagy to benefit their replication. To date, there are more and more growing evidences uncovering the functions of many viral proteins to regulate autophagy through different cellular pathways. In this review, we will discuss the relationship between viruses and autophagy and summarize the current knowledge on the functions of viral proteins contributing to affect autophagy process.