Cell therapies for viral diseases: a new frontier

Despite advances in medicine and antimicrobial research, viral infections continue to pose a major threat to human health. While major strides have been made in generating vaccines and small molecules to combat emerging pathogens, new modalities of treatment are warranted in diseases where there is a lack of treatment options, or where treatment cannot fully eradicate pathogens, as in HIV infection. Cellular therapies, some of which are FDA approved for treating cancer, take advantage of our developing understanding of the immune system, and harness this knowledge to enhance, or direct, immune responses toward infectious agents. As with cancer, viruses that evade immunity, do so by avoiding immune recognition or by redirecting the cellular responses that would eradicate them. As such, infusing virus specific immune cells has the potential to improve patient outcomes and should be investigated as a potential tool in the arsenal to fight infection. The present manuscript summarizes key findings made using cellular therapies for the treatment of viral infections, focusing on the potential that these strategies might have in controlling disease.