Reverse genetics of Mononegavirales: How they work, new vaccines, and new cancer therapeutics.

Publication/Presentation Date

5-1-2015

Abstract

The order Mononegavirales includes five families: Bornaviridae, Filoviridae, Nyamaviridae, Paramyxoviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. The genome of these viruses is one molecule of negative-sense single strand RNA coding for five to ten genes in a conserved order. The RNA is not infectious until packaged by the nucleocapsid protein and transcribed by the polymerase and co-factors. Reverse genetics approaches have answered fundamental questions about the biology of Mononegavirales. The lack of icosahedral symmetry and modular organization in the genome of these viruses has facilitated engineering of viruses expressing fluorescent proteins, and these fluorescent proteins have provided important insights about the molecular and cellular basis of tissue tropism and pathogenesis. Studies have assessed the relevance for virulence of different receptors and the interactions with cellular proteins governing the innate immune responses. Research has also analyzed the mechanisms of attenuation. Based on these findings, ongoing clinical trials are exploring new live attenuated vaccines and the use of viruses re-engineered as cancer therapeutics.

Volume

479-480

First Page

331

Last Page

344

ISSN

1096-0341

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

25702088

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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