Award details

Molecular pathogenesis of porcine viruses

Reference	BBS/E/I/00001045
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Penelope Powell
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	The Pirbright Institute
Department	The Pirbright Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	394,162
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2003
End date	30/10/2005
Duration	31 months

Abstract

ASFV is a large DNA virus that causes a haemorrhagic disease of domestic pigs for which there is no cure or vaccine. The project seeks to understand the pathogenesis of African swine fever virus through understanding the changes in gene expression that take place in infected tissues in vivo, and in primary cell cultures in vitro. We will use laser dissection microscopy to isolate cells from infected tissue and analyse these for gene expression by relative quantitative PCR and microarray analysis. This will allow us to assess whether changes in proinflammatory cytokine and apoptotic mediator gene expression contribute to bystander apoptosis of lymphocytes and/or the haemorrhagic pathology seen in vivo. Using a virus deleted for A238L we will test directly whether A238L (a dominant negative inhibitor of NFkB) alone explains the suppression of NFkB seen in cells infected with ASFV. We will also express A238L in a heterlogous system using a Sindbis virus vector to investigate the intrinsic effects of the protein on apoptosis and inflammation. It has been shown recently that in addition to affecting cytokines, large DNA virus can also effect the interferon pathway. We will determine whether ASFV affects interferon by observing the components of the interferon signal transduction pathway in infected cells

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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