The Role of Chloroviruses as Possible Infectious Agents for Human Health: Putative Mechanisms of ATCV-1 Infection and Potential Routes of Transmission

Abstract

The Chlorovirus genus of the Phycodnaviridae family includes large viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome. Chloroviruses are widely distributed in freshwater bodies around the world and have been isolated from freshwater sources in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. One representative of chloroviruses is Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1 (ATCV-1), which is hosted by Chlorella heliozoae. A few publications in the last ten years about the potential effects of ATCV-1 on the human brain sparked interest among specialists in the field of human infectious pathology. The goal of our viewpoint was to compile the scant research on the effects of ATCV-1 on the human body, to demonstrate the role of chloroviruses as new possible infectious agents for human health, and to indicate potential routes of virus transmission. We believe that ATCV-1 transmission routes remain unexplored. We also question whether chlorella-based nutritional supplements are dangerous for ATCV-1 infections. Further research will help to identify the routes of infection, the cell types in which ATCV-1 can persist, and the pathological mechanisms of the virus’s effect on the human body.