Genome-virome interactions: examining the role of common viral infections in complex disease

Nat Rev Microbiol. 2011 Apr;9(4):254-64. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2541.

Abstract

New technologies have widened our view of 'complex diseases': those with both genetic and environmental risk factors. In this Review, we explore recent genetic and virological evidence implicating host-virus interactions in three diseases: type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and asthma. The viruses implicated in these diseases cause mucosal infections that affect most of the population but are asymptomatic or mild in many hosts. These findings place a new emphasis on common viral infections as important environmental factors in the pathogenesis of complex diseases, and they compel the field to pursue a better understanding of host interactions with the human virome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Asthma* / genetics
  • Asthma* / virology
  • Crohn Disease* / genetics
  • Crohn Disease* / virology
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* / genetics
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* / virology
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / genetics
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / virology
  • Molecular Diagnostic Techniques
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Risk Factors
  • Virus Diseases / immunology
  • Virus Diseases / virology*
  • Virus Physiological Phenomena*