Immune evasion by adenoviruses

Adenovirus is a human pathogen that infects mainly respiratory and gastroin testinal epithelia. While the pathology caused by this virus is generally n ot life threatening in immunocompetent individuals, there is a large litera ture describing its ability to establish a persistent infection. These pers istent infections typically occur in apparently healthy individuals with no outward signs of disease. Such a long term and benign interaction between virus and immune system requires adenoviruses to dampen host antiviral effe ctor mechanisms that would otherwise eliminate the virus and cause immune-m ediated pathology to the host. Adenovirus devotes a significant portion of its genome to gene products whose sole function seems to be the modulation of host immune responses. This review focuses on what is currently understo od about how these immunomodulatory mechanisms work and how they might play a role in maintaining the virus in a persistent state.