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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Plaquing of Herpes Simplex Viruses
Published on: November 5, 2021
Oxidative stress favours herpes virus infection in vertebrates: a meta-analysis
Manrico Sebastiano1, Olivier Chastel2, Benoît de Thoisy3
1Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
Abstract:
Herpes viruses are responsible for a variety of pathological effects in humans and in both wild and domestic animals. One mechanism that has been proposed to facilitate replication and activity of herpes viruses is oxidative stress (OS). We used meta-analytical techniques to test the hypotheses that (1) herpes virus infection causes OS and (2) supplementation of antioxidants reduces virus load, indicating that replication is favoured by a state of OS. Results based on studies on mammals, including humans, and birds show that (1) OS is indeed increased by herpes virus infection across multiple tissues and species, (2) biomarkers of OS may change differently between tissues, and (3) the effect size does not differ among different virus strains. In addition, the increase of oxidative damage in blood (tissue commonly available in ecological studies) was similar to that in the tissues most sensitive to the herpes virus. Our results also show that administration of antioxidants reduces virus yield, indicating that a condition of OS is favorable for the viral replication. In addition, some antioxidants may be more efficient than others in reducing herpes virus yield. Our results point to a potential mechanism linking herpes virus infection to individual health status.
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