ABSTRACT
Establishment of successful infection requires the invading viruses to reprogram the host cell defense machinery. In addition to directly taking part in the process of replication, virus encoded proteins often have the ability to modulate the host cell signaling events. Viruses, with limited ‘molecular tools’, are able to hijack the cellular physiology and functions to create the intracellular environment that favors the process of infection. Targeting the host’s antiviral defense and rendering cells permissive for replication is one among various strategies viruses adopt for successful invasion. Mitochondria are not only the center for metabolic pathways, but also are active hub for antiviral signaling. Mitochondrial depolarization, size and shape are critical factors that determine the multifaceted signaling mediated by the mitochondria. Recent reports accentuate that mitochondrial dynamics critically regulates numerous cellular functions and proteins associated with mitochondrial dynamics; in particular, they have been shown to regulate antiviral signaling. In this chapter, we will discuss how viruses alter and manipulate mitochondrial dynamics to benefit their proliferation process and ultimately attenuate innate immunity.
