Modulation of apoptosis by cytomegalovirus: analysis of new mechanisms to interfere with cytomegalovirus-induced disease

Funded Activity Summary

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death is an essential process in developmental and homeostatic control of complex biological systems. In addition to these primary house keeping roles, apoptosis provides a powerful defence mechanism against invading pathogens, such as viruses, since it allows early elimination of infected cells from the host. A basic property of herpesviruses is their ability to establish persistent infection and remain in association with the host for its lifetime. This strongly underlines their success at reaching an accommodation with the immune system's anti-apoptotic mechanisms. The central hypothesis of this project is that herpesviruses, such as murine and human cytomegalovirus, encode proteins that interfere with cell death pathways thereby circumventing host defence so that viral replication and dissemination can proceed. Thus, the aims are to identify and characterise cytomegalovirus proteins that modulate apoptosis. These studies will improve our understanding of the control of apoptosis during viral infection, especially as caused by cytomegaloviruses. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a pathogen able to cause significant morbidity and mortality in individuals with immature or compromised immune systems, such as newborns, AIDS patients, transplant recipients and people treated with chemotherapeutic drugs. Hence, the proposed studies will allow the elucidation of molecular mechanisms that may be relevant to the pathogenesis of HCMV in man and will provide insights into the rational design of suitable antiviral drugs and vaccines. Understanding viral mechanisms of host immune evasion continues to improve our understanding of complex cellular pathways. Therefore, given that abnormal regulation of apoptosis is implicated in the development of degenerative conditions, cancer and autoimmune disease, the proposed studies will provide valuable insight towards the development of new therapies for these pathological conditions.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2000

End Date: 01-01-2004

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $697,084.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Clinical sciences not elsewhere classified

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Cytomegalovirus | Immune evasion mechanisms | Immunosuppressed patients | Modulation of apoptosis | Transplantation | Viral infection | Viral pathogenesis

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