VThunter

VThunter provides a curated database for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of viral receptor expression across animal species to support identification of viral entry determinants, tissue tropism, and host susceptibility.

Key Features:

• Single-Cell Resolution: Leverages single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to map viral receptor expression at cellular resolution for identification of tissue tropism and susceptible cell types.
• Comprehensive Dataset Integration: Integrates manually curated scRNA-seq datasets from numerous animal studies into a consolidated resource.
• Extensive Annotation: Annotates 107 viral receptors across 142 viruses with expression signatures covering over 2 million cells from 47 animal species.
• Standardized Processing Pipeline: Applies a unified, standardized processing pipeline to ensure consistency and comparability across integrated datasets.

Scientific Applications:

• Viral Pathogenesis Research: Supports analysis of virus–receptor interactions to elucidate mechanisms of viral entry and infection at the cellular level.
• Host Range Assessment: Enables evaluation of species- and tissue-specific receptor expression to inform assessments of host susceptibility.
• Transmission Dynamics: Facilitates investigation of potential cross-species transmission routes by comparing receptor expression patterns across species and tissues.

Methodology:

Curation and analysis of scRNA-seq datasets using a standardized unified processing pipeline.