A review published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences proposes a hierarchical framework known as therapeutic virotyping to structure the design of antiviral combination therapies. The authors, Valentyn Oksenych and Denis E. Kainov, note that virus taxonomy and the Baltimore system organise viruses by evolution and genome expression. Instead, the proposed system assigns virotypes based on the specific materials produced during viral infection, creating a structured feature space for prioritizing candidate combinations.

The framework operates on three distinct levels to map viral composition to therapeutic targets. The first level assigns a composition virotype, categorizing viruses as nucleic-acid-only replicators, non-enveloped viruses, or enveloped viruses.

The second level maps these composition virotypes to three therapeutic material layers: N for nucleic-acid processes, P for protein processes, and L for lipid or membrane processes. The third level resolves these layers into a core scaffold, defined as N1 through N8, P1 through P8, and L1 through L8, along with context-dependent extensions.

Within this system, modifier enzymes are assigned based on their therapeutic endpoint, while host responses remain an optional annotation. The resulting N/P/L dependency fingerprint serves as a structured feature space, enabling the systematic prioritization of antiviral combinations.

Candidate antiviral combinations advance through claim-specific evidence gates, progressing from molecular analysis to clinical evaluation. The review emphasizes that therapeutic virotyping links composition, functional dependency, and experimentally testable combination design.

The article is presented as an early access version, meaning it is citable and carries a permanent DOI but remains subject to further edits before the final Version of Record is published.

Subject of Research: Therapeutic virotyping framework for antiviral combination design

Article Title: Therapeutic virotyping for antiviral combination design

Article References: Oksenych, V., & Kainov, D. E. (2026). Therapeutic virotyping for antiviral combination design. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-026-06509-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s00018-026-06509-2

Keywords: therapeutic virotyping, antiviral combinations, viral taxonomy, Baltimore system, drug design, virology, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, review article, Therapeutic, virotyping, antiviral, combination