Crosstalk between vimentin and keratins in viral infection: Implications across the viral life cycle

Intermediate filaments (IFs) have long been regarded as a static scaffold responsible for maintaining cellular structure and integrity. However, recent studies have revealed that IFs, particularly vimentin and keratin, exert a profound and versatile influence on viral infection. In this narrative review, we summarize how these IFs influence multiple stages of the viral life cycle, including attachment/entry, replication, intracellular trafficking, assembly, and egress. We further discuss their contributions to cell-to-cell spread, host immune regulation, and oncogenic processes. Collectively, these findings illustrate how viruses exploit or remodel the IF network to facilitate propagation, and highlight IF – virus interfaces as potential targets for antiviral intervention.长期以来，中间丝（Intermediate filaments, IFs）被视作维持细胞结构与完整性的静态支架。然而，近期研究表明，IFs——尤其是波形蛋白（vimentin）与角蛋白（keratin）——对病毒感染过程发挥出深刻且多效的调控作用。本叙述性综述（narrative review）系统总结了此类中间丝如何影响病毒生命周期（viral life cycle）的多个阶段，包括吸附/入侵、复制、细胞内转运（intracellular trafficking）、组装（assembly）与病毒释放（egress）。本文还进一步探讨了它们在细胞间传播（cell-to-cell spread）、宿主免疫调控（host immune regulation）及致癌进程（oncogenic processes）中的作用。综上，这些研究成果阐明了病毒如何利用或重塑中间丝网络以促进自身增殖，并凸显出IF-病毒互作界面可作为抗病毒干预（antiviral intervention）的潜在靶点。