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Updated: May 26, 2026

A Comparative Approach to Characterize the Landscape of Host-Pathogen Protein-Protein Interactions
Published on: July 18, 2013
Virus-human cell interactomes.
Lionel Tafforeau1, Chantal Rabourdin-Combe, Vincent Lotteau
1Institute de biologie et de médecine moléculaires, Université libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium.
High-throughput technologies in virology identify essential cellular factors for viral replication. Targeting these factors and cellular pathways offers new therapeutic strategies against viral infections and drug resistance.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Cellular Biology
- Drug Discovery
Background:
- Global approaches and high-throughput technologies are revolutionizing virology research.
- Understanding viral infection requires a detailed analysis of host-pathogen interactions at the cellular level.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify cellular factors essential for viral replication that can be targeted for novel antiviral therapies.
- To develop new strategies for treating viral infections by targeting cellular pathways crucial for virus replication.
- To combat antiviral drug resistance by diversifying therapeutic approaches.
Main Methods:
- Construction of virus-human interactomes using global approaches and high-throughput technologies.
- Utilizing a stringent yeast two-hybrid system to screen human cDNA libraries against viral proteins.
- Integrating interaction data from literature and public databases to create comprehensive infection maps.
Main Results:
- Identification of cellular factors critical for the viral life cycle.
- Visualization of viral infection as perturbations in the human protein-protein interaction network.
- Discovery of potential new therapeutic targets by analyzing impaired biological functions.
Conclusions:
- Virus-human interactomes provide a comprehensive cellular-level analysis of viral infections.
- Targeting cellular pathways exploited by viruses offers a promising avenue for novel antiviral drug development.
- Combining new therapeutic molecules with existing antivirals and immunomodulators can enhance the antiviral arsenal and overcome drug resistance.
Related Concept Videos
Human Virome
Viral Recombination
Viruses with RNA Genomes
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
Overview of Cell-Matrix Interactions

