Viral cytopathic effect (CPE)

Viral cytopathic effect (CPE) refers to the visible and often deleterious changes in host cells resulting from viral infection. These changes include cell rounding, detachment, lysis, fusion with neighboring cells to form multinucleated structures (syncytia), and the appearance of nuclear or cytoplasmic inclusion bodies. The CPE varies depending on virus type, host cell type, and conditions of infection, and is a central concept in virology for understanding virus-induced cell injury as well as for viral diagnostics, pathogenesis research, and drug screening. Viral cytopathic effect is a descriptive term for cell pathology caused by viral infection. It is not a canonical molecular target (such as a receptor or enzyme) and does not correspond to a distinct biological molecule that can be addressed with therapeutic agents; rather, it is an endpoint or phenotype observed upon viral infection.

Other names

cytopathogenic effectCPE