Importance of host cell receptor specificity and immune responses in rotavirus pathogenesis

Abstract

Rotavirus is the main cause of severe infantile gastroenteritis worldwide in humans and a significant animal pathogen. Major determinants of the tropism of rotaviruses for particular hosts and cells include the ability to utilise certain cell surface receptors and evade innate host immune responses. Extraintestinal disease manifestations resulting from rotavirus infection are also increasingly being recognised. For example, this virus plays a role in accelerating progression towards the onset of type 1 diabetes in genetically at-risk children and mice. It is important to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the current childhood vaccines for rotavirus disease occurring both in the gut and extraintestinally.