Preface

Adenovirus infection is a disease of the group of acute respiratory viral infections and is characterized by lesions of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, conjuncti‐ va, and lymphoid tissue. Adenovirus infection is characterized by widespread prevalence: up to 10% of all human viral diseases account for these viruses. The greatest susceptibility to adenoviruses is demonstrated by children from 6 months to 5 years. In some cases, there is a long persistence of adenoviruses in the human body and the transition to a chronic form of infection. A number of serotypes of adenoviruses induce tumors in animals. Adenovirus in‐ fection is especially dangerous for persons with immunodeficiency, including AIDS patients and recipients of bone marrow and internal organs, in whom adenoviruses cause severe generalized infection. At the same time, adenoviruses are considered to be one of the most studied models of oncolytic viruses and viral vectors, since these DNA-containing viruses are convenient for genetic engineering manipulations, are relatively low pathogenically, and can grow well in cell culture.

This book includes a series of articles that highlight a number of issues of human and animal adenoviruses, progress in approaches to the chemotherapy of adenoviral infections, as well as advances in the development of vector vaccines and adenovirus-based gene therapy.

I hope that this book will stimulate additional interest in this field of research and will be useful not only for researchers, students, and clinical interns, but also for practicing health‐ care system doctors.

I would like to thank all the excellent authors who participated in the writing of this collec‐ tion of chapters, as well as my students and members of my family who provided me with invaluable support while preparing this book. I also express appreciation to the prominent team of publishers for their clear and well-coordinated activities and assistance at all stages of this work.

### **Prof. Dr. Yulia Desheva**

Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Institute of Experimental Medicine" Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation

> Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter: Human Adenoviruses**

**Introductory Chapter: Human Adenoviruses**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.82554

The date of adenoviruses' discovery is considered to be in 1953, when a cytopathogenic agent was identified during the long-term cultivation of the tissues of the tonsils and adenoids after operations in children with Rowe and coworkers [1]. This determined the name of the viruses (adenoid degeneration viruses) and outlined their basic ecology associated with asymptomatic persistence in the lymphoid tissue. Soon, adenoviruses were isolated from materials obtained from patients with acute respiratory diseases accompanied by conjunctivitis [2]. In 1954, Huebner received the new data indicating that similar viruses are also found in the secretes of patients with acute pharyngitis and conjunctivitis, and therefore they were called "adenoid-pharyngeal-conjunctival viruses" [1]. In the same year, another group of researchers, when studying the etiology of acute respiratory infections and atypical pneumonia, isolated a previously unknown virus from the US Army recruits, named RI-67. It further proved the adenoviruses' identity with the adenoid-pharyngeal-conjunctival virus [3]. In subsequent years, such viruses were isolated from patients during outbreaks of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, although as an independent disease, it was described in the 20s of the

Adenoviruses are the first respiratory viruses that were isolated on tissue culture. The opportunity to grow up in vitro on synthetic media of various cells of organs and tissues of humans and animals, as well as the ability of viruses to multiply on sensitive cells to cause a cytopathic effect opened up broad prospects for the development of virology. By 1956, a large number of biologically similar but antigenically distinct strains of viruses were identified, which were decided to have a group name of adenoviruses [4]. Not less than 120 viruses that infect mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are described in the *Adenoviridae* family. Further study of adenoviruses, the discovery of their new serotypes made it possible to establish that this viruses cause not only respiratory diseases but also diarrhea, mesadenitis, hemorrhagic cystitis, and other pathological conditions. Only in humans, over 50 adenoviral serotypes are

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82554

Yulia Desheva

**1. Introduction**

twentieth century.

Yulia Desheva

### **Introductory Chapter: Human Adenoviruses Introductory Chapter: Human Adenoviruses**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.82554

### Yulia Desheva Yulia Desheva

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82554

**1. Introduction**

The date of adenoviruses' discovery is considered to be in 1953, when a cytopathogenic agent was identified during the long-term cultivation of the tissues of the tonsils and adenoids after operations in children with Rowe and coworkers [1]. This determined the name of the viruses (adenoid degeneration viruses) and outlined their basic ecology associated with asymptomatic persistence in the lymphoid tissue. Soon, adenoviruses were isolated from materials obtained from patients with acute respiratory diseases accompanied by conjunctivitis [2]. In 1954, Huebner received the new data indicating that similar viruses are also found in the secretes of patients with acute pharyngitis and conjunctivitis, and therefore they were called "adenoid-pharyngeal-conjunctival viruses" [1]. In the same year, another group of researchers, when studying the etiology of acute respiratory infections and atypical pneumonia, isolated a previously unknown virus from the US Army recruits, named RI-67. It further proved the adenoviruses' identity with the adenoid-pharyngeal-conjunctival virus [3]. In subsequent years, such viruses were isolated from patients during outbreaks of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, although as an independent disease, it was described in the 20s of the twentieth century.

Adenoviruses are the first respiratory viruses that were isolated on tissue culture. The opportunity to grow up in vitro on synthetic media of various cells of organs and tissues of humans and animals, as well as the ability of viruses to multiply on sensitive cells to cause a cytopathic effect opened up broad prospects for the development of virology. By 1956, a large number of biologically similar but antigenically distinct strains of viruses were identified, which were decided to have a group name of adenoviruses [4]. Not less than 120 viruses that infect mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are described in the *Adenoviridae* family. Further study of adenoviruses, the discovery of their new serotypes made it possible to establish that this viruses cause not only respiratory diseases but also diarrhea, mesadenitis, hemorrhagic cystitis, and other pathological conditions. Only in humans, over 50 adenoviral serotypes are

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

known which cause a wide range of illnesses, from mild respiratory infections in young children to life-threatening multi-organ disease in immunocompromised people.
