Hepatovirus 3ABC proteases and evolution of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS)

Despite effective vaccines, hepatitis A virus (HAV) remains a common cause of acute viral hepatitis in many regions of the world [1]. The continued presence of this hepatotropic virus is dependent upon unbroken chains of fecal-oral transmission, since persistent infection is rare-to-nonexistent and chronic HAV shedders are unknown. Accordingly, HAV disappears at times from small, isolated human populations, only to return with a vengeance when re-introduced [2,3]. Thus, unlike hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) that cause longterm persistant infections and co-evolved with humans and other primate species over millions of years [4 –6], HAV likely became established among human populations only when groups living together became large enough to sustain chains of transmission 10-12 thousand years ago.

Source: Journal of Hepatology - March 11, 2019 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Hui Feng, Anna-Lena Sander, Andr és Moreira-Soto, Daisuke Yamane, Jan Felix Drexler, Stanley M. Lemon Source Type: research