Three-dimensional cell culture models for investigating human viruses

Three-dimensional(3D) culture models are physiologically relevant, as they provide reproducible results, experimental flexibility and can be adapted for high-throughput experiments. Moreover,these models bridge the gap between traditional two-dimensional(2D) monolayer cultures and animal models. 3D culture systems have significantly advanced basic cell science and tissue engineering, especially in the fields of cell biology and physiology, stem cell research, regenerative medicine, cancer research, drug discovery, and gene and protein expression studies. In addition,3D models can provide unique insight into bacteriology, virology, parasitology and host-pathogen interactions. This review summarizes and analyzes recent progress in human virological research with 3D cell culture models. We discuss viral growth, replication, proliferation, infection, virus-host interactions and antiviral drugs in 3D culture models.

Organ-on-a-chip platforms for accelerating the evaluation of nanomedicine

Nanomedicine involves the use of engineered nanoscale materials in an extensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic applications and can be applied to the treatment of many diseases.Despite the rapid progress and tremendous potential of nanomedicine in the past decades,the clinical translational process is still quite slow,owing to the difficulty in understanding,evaluating,and predicting nanomaterial behaviors within the complex environment of human beings.Microfluidics-based organ-on-a-chip(Organ Chip)techniques offer a promising way to resolve these challenges.Sophisticatedly designed Organ Chip enable in vitro simulation of the in vivo microenvironments,thus providing robust platforms for evaluating nanomedicine.Herein,we review recent developments and achievements in Organ Chip models for nanomedicine evaluations,categorized into seven broad sections based on the target organ systems:respiratory,digestive,lymphatic,excretory,nervous,and vascular,as well as coverage on applications relating to cancer.We conclude by providing our perspectives on the challenges and potential future directions for applications of Organ Chip in nanomedicine.

From Discovery to Cure, A Great Journey of the Hepatitis C Virus Study

Hepatitis C virus(HCV)causes chronic infection in over 75%of the HCV-infected individuals,resulting in liver cancer in substantial patients.Since its discovery in 1989,HCV experiences a journey from discovery to cure,largely due to the virology studies and success of direct antiviral agent(DAA)development.We reviewed the HCV research journey,from the discovery of this virus to the development of DAAs for cure.Learning the methodology used in HCV studies and the knowledge of developing DAAs against HCV may inspire the studies of other difficult-to-culture viruses,such as hepatitis E virus and norovirus,as well as the development of DAAs for other single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses,including the pandemic-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus,which shares the common replication strategy of forming a membrane-bound viral replicase.