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Potential use of nonpathogenic enteroviruses for control of human disease
Abstract:
Until recently, it has been generally assumed that all human viruses are causative agents of diseases and should be regarded as harmful pathogenic agents that require control measures. In the early 1950s we began to doubt this view. In the course of experiments on virus isolations from feces of normal children, as well as in studies of isolates from animals and from tissue cultures, data accrued which suggested that some conditionally pathogenic and some completely nonpathogenic strains of enteroviruses may provide some benefit to their host by inhibition of pathogenic viruses and by activating nonspecific protective functions of the organism. The novel concept of beneficial viruses was proposed which suggested that the process of co-evolution of the host organism and its associated viral flora led to a specific interaction between them that was beneficial for both. This concept provides a potential approach to the nonspecific prevention of viral diseases by means of the interference between beneficial enteroviruses and pathogenic viruses belonging to different classes.
Insights
This study challenges the view that all viruses are harmful. Researchers propose that some enteroviruses (a type of virus) can be beneficial by inhibiting harmful viruses and boosting the host
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Historically, viruses have been exclusively characterized as pathogenic agents requiring control.
- Emerging data in the 1950s questioned this long-held assumption about viral pathogenicity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential beneficial roles of certain viral strains, specifically enteroviruses.
- To explore the concept of beneficial viruses co-existing with hosts.
Main Methods:
- Conducted experiments involving virus isolations from normal children's feces.
- Analyzed viral isolates from animal and tissue culture studies.
- Observed interactions between viral strains and host organisms.
Main Results:
- Identified conditionally pathogenic and nonpathogenic enterovirus strains.
- Observed that these strains may inhibit pathogenic viruses.
- Noted activation of nonspecific protective functions in the host organism.
Conclusions:
- Proposed the novel concept of beneficial viruses co-evolving with their hosts.
- This host-viral interaction can be mutually beneficial.
- Beneficial enteroviruses may offer a strategy for nonspecific viral disease prevention through interference with pathogenic viruses.