Liang ZH, Huang P, Shen JJ, Wei J, Qian WX, Yi CH. Antiviral innate immunity and adaptive immune responses against monkeypox and viral immune evasion. World J Virol 2026; 15(2): 116792 [DOI: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i2.116792]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Chang-Hua Yi, PhD, Professor, Department of Clinical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 2 Zhongfu Road, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China. chhuayi@sina.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Virology
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Virol. Jun 25, 2026; 15(2): 116792 Published online Jun 25, 2026. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v15.i2.116792
Antiviral innate immunity and adaptive immune responses against monkeypox and viral immune evasion
Zi-Hao Liang, Ping Huang, Jian-Jun Shen, Jie Wei, Wen-Xian Qian, Chang-Hua Yi
Zi-Hao Liang, Wen-Xian Qian, Chang-Hua Yi, Department of Clinical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Ping Huang, Department of Liver Diseases, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Jian-Jun Shen, Department of Chinese Medicine, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Jie Wei, Department of Scientific Research, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the writing.
Supported by the Scientific Research Topics of Jiangsu Provincial Healthcare Commission, No. M2021078; Nanjing Medical Key Science and Technology Development Project, No. ZKX20032; and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 92169106.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Chang-Hua Yi, PhD, Professor, Department of Clinical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Nanjing, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 2 Zhongfu Road, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China. chhuayi@sina.cn
Received: November 28, 2025 Revised: March 6, 2026 Accepted: April 8, 2026 Published online: June 25, 2026 Processing time: 203 Days and 1.5 Hours
Abstract
The monkeypox virus (MPXV) belongs to the Poxviridae family and has emerged as a global problem for public health since May 2022. Both innate and adaptive immunity are crucial for preventing MPXV infections. Understanding the interaction between the innate and adaptive immune systems and MPXV could be critical in developing novel treatments. This review presents an update on the host antiviral innate and adaptive immune responses against four zoonosis poxvirus, including mouse kidney parvovirus, cowpox virus, variola virus, and vaccinia virus. The effect of APOBEC3 variants on viral immune escape and the underlying mechanisms were also explored. The possible mechanisms of the effects of human immunodeficiency virus and monkeypox co-infection in the clinical setting were also analysed in the hope of providing a basis for clinical drug development and treatment.
Core Tip: The monkeypox virus has emerged as a global public health concern since 2022. It provides a comprehensive update on the host’s antiviral innate and adaptive immune responses against monkeypox virus and related orthopox viruses. The article further explores the complex mechanisms of viral immune evasion, including strategies such as APOBEC3-driven mutations that may influence viral evolution and immune recognition. Understanding these intricate host-pathogen interactions is critical for developing novel treatments and next-generation vaccines.
