In most cases, the disturbances of bodily function that are manifested as the signs and symptoms of viral disease result from the direct effects of viruses on cells. Knowledge of the morphologic, physiologic, biochemical, and immunologic effects of viruses on cells is essential in understanding the pathophysiology of viral disease and in developing accurate diagnostic procedures and effective treatment.
Virus-host cell interactions (Table 44-1) may produce either 1) cytocidal (cytolytic) infections, in which production of new infectious virus kills the cell; 2) persistent infections, in which the virus or its genome resides in some or all of the cells without killing most of them; or 3) transformation, in which the virus does not kill the cell, but produces genetic, biochemical, physiologic, and morphologic changes that may result in the acquisition of malignant properties (see also Ch. 47). The type of virus infection and the virus-induced effects on cells are dependent on the virus, the cell type and species, and often the physiologic state of the cell.
Copyright © 1996, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.