Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse
Summary
Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expropriate glycoproteins from helper viruses to form infectious particles. Here, we challenge this paradigm and demonstrate that deltaviruses are packaged within helper virus particles, using them as viral Trojan Horses for cell entry. By leveraging orthogonal electron and optical super-resolution microscopy, we visualize deltaviruses enclosed w
Content
# Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse
*Published: 2026 Apr 30*
Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently
discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expropriate
glycoproteins from helper viruses to form infectious particles. Here, we
challenge this paradigm and demonstrate that deltaviruses are packaged within
helper virus particles, using them as viral Trojan Horses for cell entry. By
leveraging orthogonal electron and optical super-resolution microscopy, we
visualize deltaviruses enclosed within virions from rhabdo-, herpes-, and
arenavirus families. We show that this conserved hitchhiking mechanism ensures
concomitant deltavirus-helper virus spread, thereby promoting the dissemination
of deltaviruses, broadening their host range, and expanding their tropism. Our
findings reveal a previously unrecognized mode of viral transmission, providing
a framework to investigate overlooked deltavirus infections outside of the human
liver.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.01.037