Perspective on Adenoviruses: Epidemiology, Pathogenicity, and Gene Therapy

Brennetta J Crenshaw; Leandra B Jones; Courtnee' R Bell; Sanjay Kumar; Qiana L Matthews

doi:10.3390/biomedicines7030061

Perspective on Adenoviruses: Epidemiology, Pathogenicity, and Gene Therapy

Biomedicines. 2019 Aug 19;7(3):61. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines7030061.

Authors

Brennetta J Crenshaw¹, Leandra B Jones¹, Courtnee' R Bell¹, Sanjay Kumar², Qiana L Matthews^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Microbiology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA.
² Departments of Pediatrics and Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, Division of Neonatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
³ Microbiology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA. qmatthews@alasu.edu.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA. qmatthews@alasu.edu.

Abstract

Human adenoviruses are large (150 MDa) doubled-stranded DNA viruses that cause respiratory infections. These viruses are particularly pathogenic in healthy and immune-compromised individuals, and currently, no adenovirus vaccine is available for the general public. The purpose of this review is to describe (i) the epidemiology and pathogenicity of human adenoviruses, (ii) the biological role of adenovirus vectors in gene therapy applications, and (iii) the potential role of exosomes in adenoviral infections.

Keywords: Mastadenovirus; adenovirus; epidemiology; exosomes; gene therapy; serotype.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

1R15DA045564-01/NH/NIH HHS/United States