Virology Commons^™

Dengue Virus Modulation Of Genome Instability In Vero E6 Cells, Erica Nicole Lamkin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dengue virus (DENV) is the fastest-spreading arthropod-borne virus in the world. Dengue is characterized as a major global public health challenge in tropical and subtropical nations by the World Health Organization. The number of dengue cases globally has increased 8-fold in the past two decades, with 100 to 400 million cases occurring annually. While most patients with dengue fever are asymptomatic, dengue infection carries the possibility of severe and potentially fatal febrile illness. Approximately 1 in 4 individuals infected with dengue virus develop symptomatic dengue infection, often presenting as mild to moderate, nonspecific, acute febrile illness. A smaller subset of …

Characterization Of Higher Order Chromatin Structures And Chromatin States In Cell Models Of Human Herpesvirus Infection, Michael Mariani

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Human herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens worldwide with 90% of the global population infected with one or more Human herpesviruses (HHV’s) by adulthood. All herpesviruses have three unique life cycle stages. Upon resolution of a primary acute stage infection, they can establish a latent stage infection within the host cell nucleus. This stage is characterized primarily by transcriptional quiescence of the viral genome. Specific physiological conditions (e.g., cell stress) can cause the latent virus to enter the reactivation stage, often many years after resolution of the acute infection, in which the virus becomes replicationally active again. HHV’s are known to cause …

Analysis Of Host Factors Involved In Regulating Hiv-1-Induced Syncytium Formation, Emily Elizabeth Whitaker

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a retrovirus and the causative agent of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV-1 can spread through multiple modes of transmission including cell-to-cell transmission between CD4+ T cells at a transient junction known as the virological synapse (VS). The VS forms upon HIV-1 Envelope (Env) on the surface of an infected (producer) cell binding CD4 on an uninfected (target) cell. While the VS typically resolves with complete cell separation and transfer of virus particles, Env can occasionally facilitate cell-cell fusion at this site, forming a multinucleated infected cell (syncytium). Excessive syncytium formation is prevented by …

Pathological Consequences Of Pdi Oxidoreductase Activity On Viral Protein Maturation, Nicolas Chamberlain

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The influenza A virus (IAV) causes severe respiratory illness in humans. Current treatments are rapidly becoming ineffective due to the emergence of viral resistance to available therapies such as oseltamivir and zanamivir. Given the impact of this virus there is an urgent need to explore novel targets for new treatments less susceptible to viral mutation; targeting host proteins utilized by the virus may avoid these limitations. It has been shown in vitro that interactions with host ER based protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) are required for specific IAV proteins to reach their functional conformations. The viral proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase …

Key Virus-Host Interactions Required For Arenavirus Particle Assembly And Release, Christopher Michael Ziegler

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Viruses are infectious agents that must infect the cells of living organisms in order to reproduce. They have relatively simple genomes which encode few proteins but can compensate for their simplicity by hijacking components of their cellular hosts. Arenaviruses, a family of zoonotic viruses carried by rodents, encode only 4 proteins. One of these proteins, Z, is responsible for several functions during the virus life cycle including driving the formation and release of new virus particles at the plasma membrane of infected cells. Relatively little is known about how this viral protein is regulated or the complement of host proteins …

Reviews Of Science For Science Librarians: The Challenge Of The Zika Virus: An Emerging Arbovirus Disease, Frances A. Delwiche

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

First identified in Uganda in 1947, the Zika virus simmered quietly for sixty years, occasionally causing a mild dengue-like illness across parts of central Africa and equatorial Asia. However, since 2007, three large outbreaks have occurred: first in Micronesia, then in French Polynesia in 2013-2014, and as an epidemic involving Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America in 2015-2016. This paper reviews the virology of the Zika virus, its modes of transmission, symptoms of Zika Virus Disease, the association of Zika infections with microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome, prevention of Zika infections, and ongoing efforts to develop a vaccine.

Hiv-1-Induced Cell-Cell Fusion: Host Regulation And Consequences For Viral Spread, Menelaos Symeonides

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a human retrovirus of the lentivirus subgroup which primarily infects T cells and macrophages, and causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since its emergence in the early 1980s, HIV-1 has caused a global pandemic which is still responsible for over one million deaths per year, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV-1 has been the subject of intense study for over three decades, which has resulted not only in major advances in cell biology, but also in numerous drug treatments that effectively control the infection. However, cessation of treatment always results in reemergence of the …

Determining The Role Of The Ergic-53 Cargo Receptor Complex In Arenavirus Propagation, Joseph P. Klaus

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Arenaviruses and hantaviruses are human pathogens that cause significant morbidity and mortality. The current lack of vaccines and treatment options for these viruses is a global concern. Despite producing only 4 proteins, these viruses are able to maintain a persistent and asymptomatic infection in wild rodents while being continuously shed into the environment. In humans, these viruses cause a spectrum of diseases ranging from aseptic meningitis to severe hemorrhagic fever syndromes. Little is known about how arenavirus and hantavirus proteins engage and interact with the human proteome during the complex process of viral biogenesis, or how the interactions with human …