Although the host immune system plays an important role in modulating the severity of viral disease expressed in an infected host, cell genes coding for proteins which are specifically involved in intracellular virus replication functions, can also modulate disease severity. The ultimate goal of our research is to understand the molecular interactions that occur between virus and host cell components during infection. These studies will identify molecular targets for the development of second generation antivirals.
Many flaviviruses regularly cause significant human morbidity and mortality.
Flavivirus-induced disease ranges from a mild febrile illness to hepatitis, hemorrhagic syndromes, or encephalitis. Vaccines are not available for most flaviviruses. The sizes and shapes of these terminal structures are conserved in the absence of sequence conservation in the stem regions. Conserved sequence elements are located in the loop regions of these RNA structures. Experiments are underway to fine map and functionally test these regulatory signals.