title: Novel therapeutic investigational strategies to treat severe and disseminated HSV infections suggested by a deeper understanding of in vitro virus entry processes.
abstract: The global burden of herpes simplex virus (HSV) legitimates the critical need to develop new prevention strategies, such as drugs and vaccines that are able to fight either primary HSV infections or reactivations. Moreover, the ever-growing number of patients receiving transplants increases the number of severe HSV infections that are unresponsive to current therapies. Finally, the high global incidence of genital HSV-2 infection increases the risk of perinatal transmission to newborns, in which disseminated infection or central nervous system (CNS) involvement is frequent, with associated high morbidity and mortality rates. There are several key features shared by novel anti-HSV drugs, from currently available optimized drugs to small molecules able to interfere with various virus replication steps. However, several virological aspects of the disease and associated clinical needs highlight why an ideal anti-HSV drug has yet to be developed.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: clementi.nicola@hsr.it.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Clementi
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Criscuolo
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cappelletti
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burioni
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clementi
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Unit, 'Vita-Salute San Raffaele' University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicasio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mancini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D053586:Virus Internalization / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents