Molecular foundations of competitive exclusion during coinfection of respiratory viruses: about COVID-19

Authors

Keywords:

coinfection/virology, respiratory tract infections/virology, competitive behavior, viral interference, defective viruses, immunomodulation, coronavirus infections, rhinovirus, influenza, human, epidemiology, pandemics (source, MeSH NLM).

Abstract

Introduction: The idea of competitive exclusion is undisputed when it comes to animals and bacteria trying to occupy the same ecological niche, but its application to viral coinfection is not so simple to interpret. Viral interference is a phenomenon in which one virus competitively suppresses the replication of other co-infecting viruses and is the most common outcome of viral co-infections.

Objective: To better understand the behavior of concomitant respiratory infections in community outbreak settings and individually in hospital settings and individuals with comorbidities.

Methods: A search for information was performed in the MEDLINE / PubMed, SciELO and LILACS databases. Articles published in the preprint repository medRxiv and reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were also considered. Using the Mendeley reference manager, duplicates and those that did not fit the study objective were eliminated, selecting 48 articles for the review.

Analysis and synthesis of information: Evidence supporting viral competitive exclusion between related viruses sharing susceptible and permissive cells was found in the scientific literature.

Conclusion: Competitive exclusion prevents two viruses that share similar transmission routes and the same target organ from infecting not only at the same time, but also from spreading successfully. Therefore, syndemia produced by viruses sharing these characteristics could be an unlikely event.

 

Author Biographies

Danny Omar Suclupe Campos, Universidad Nacional “Pedro Ruiz Gall” Lambayeque

Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Departamento de Microbiología. Grupo de Inmunología y Virología del norte. Lambayeque, Perú. Biólogo – Microbiólogo.

Franklin Rómulo Aguilar Gamboa, Hospital Regional Lambayeque. Lambayeque

Dirección de Investigación. Laboratorio de Inmunología – Virología. Grupo de Inmunología y Virología del Norte. Lambayeque, Perú.  Biólogo – Microbiólogo.>

Published

2021-10-11

How to Cite

1.
Suclupe Campos DO, Aguilar Gamboa FR. Molecular foundations of competitive exclusion during coinfection of respiratory viruses: about COVID-19. Rev Cubana Hematol Inmunol Hemoter [Internet]. 2021 Oct. 11 [cited 2025 Jan. 22];37. Available from: https://revhematologia.sld.cu/index.php/hih/article/view/1473

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Section

Artículos de Revisión