title: The Dual Role of Exosomes in Hepatitis A and C Virus Transmission and Viral Immune Activation.
abstract: Exosomes are small nanovesicles of about 100 nm in diameter that act as intercellular messengers because they can shuttle RNA, proteins and lipids between different cells. Many studies have found that exosomes also play various roles in viral pathogenesis. Hepatitis A virus (HAV; a picornavirus) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV; a flavivirus) two single strand plus-sense RNA viruses, in particular, have been found to use exosomes for viral transmission thus evading antibody-mediated immune responses. Paradoxically, both viral exosomes can also be detected by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) leading to innate immune activation and type I interferon production. This article will review recent findings regarding these two viruses and outline how exosomes are involved in their transmission and immune sensing.
authors.affiliation: MedImmune, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GH, UK. longattia@medimmune.com.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longatti
mesh_terms: D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D055354:Exosomes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D053586:Virus Internalization; D057074:Virus Release
keywords: Hepatitis A virus; Hepatitis C virus; exosomes; immune evasion; infection; innate immunity; interferon; plasmacytoid dendritic cells; transmission