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. 2023 Nov;28(11):103762.
doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103762. Epub 2023 Sep 1.

Deadly interactions: Synergistic manipulations of concurrent pathogen infections potentially enabling future pandemics

Kevin Roe  1
Affiliations

Deadly interactions: Synergistic manipulations of concurrent pathogen infections potentially enabling future pandemics

Kevin Roe. Drug Discov Today. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Certain mono-infections of influenza viruses and novel coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are significant threats to human health. Concurrent infections by influenza viruses and coronaviruses increases their danger. Influenza viruses have eight manipulations capable of assisting SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses, and several of these manipulations, which are not specific to viruses, can also directly or indirectly boost dangerous secondary bacterial pneumonias. The influenza virus manipulations include: inhibiting transcription factors and cytokine expression; impairing defensive protein expression; increasing RNA viral replication; inhibiting defenses by manipulating cellular sensors and signaling pathways; inhibiting defenses by secreting exosomes; stimulating cholesterol production to increase synthesized virion infectivities; increasing cellular autophagy to assist viral replication; and stimulating glucocorticoid synthesis to suppress innate and adaptive immune defenses by inhibiting cytokine, chemokine, and adhesion molecule production. Teaser: Rapidly spreading multidrug-resistant respiratory bacteria, combined with influenza virus's far-reaching cellular defense manipulations benefiting evolving SARS-CoV-2 or other coronaviruses and/or respiratory bacteria, can enable more severe pandemics or co-pandemics.

Keywords: alveolar epithelial cells; bacterial pneumonia; concurrent infections; coronavirus; influenza; respiratory pathogens.

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