Alteration of cell junctions during viral infection

Abstract

Cell junctions serve as a protective barrier for cells and provide an important channel for information transmission between cells and the surrounding environment. Viruses are parasites that invade and commandeer components of host cells in order to survive and replicate, and they have evolved various mechanisms to alter cell junctions to facilitate viral infection. In this review, we examined the current state of knowledge on the action of viruses on host cell junctions. The existing evidence suggests that targeting the molecules involved in the virus‐cell junction interaction can prevent the spread of viral diseases.

Keywords

• Adherens junction
• gap junction
• infection
• tight junction
• virus