Novel Omics Strategies To Combat Dengue Infection and Disease Progression

The dengue virus (DENV) is a continuing global health threat rapidly spreading from its origins in tropical and subtropical regions.  The virus is capable of causing severe and life-threatening diseases including dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Fortunately, mortality is drastically reduced with rapid diagnosis and treatment. Effective and efficient disease diagnosis and treatment, however, is limited by our knowledge of how the virus causes the disease; thus, no specific treatments are currently available to mitigate DENV infection. Novel state-of-the-art Omics approaches, which involve detecting and quantifying biological molecules, may be used to investigate how molecular and cellular pathways are perturbed during viral infection. These new approaches may serve as promising tools for discovering host biomarkers associated with infection and viral disease progression, and may unravel new host-directed therapeutic targets. In this article, we discuss the potential of these Omics approaches to revolutionize the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of emerging and re-emerging viral diseases. Specifically, we ask how Omics methods can be integrated in the clinic to facilitate data collection for researchers, and how these data can influence our ability to diagnose, prognose, and treat those infected with DENV. We then investigate the host pathways involved in the progression from dengue fever to severe dengue (DHF and DSS), based on data found in preliminary Omics studies. Finally, in line with our holistic approach, we ask whether infection with the Zika virus influences DENV disease progression. Omics approaches have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of viral disease pathogenesis, but careful planning and collaboration with clinicians are required before such findings can be made.