MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS INFECTIONS

该项目是两个主要实验室研究项目之一 本节的重点。 目标是确定、绘制和 表征水痘带状疱疹病毒基因和蛋白，表达 在活动性、潜伏性或生产性感染期间， 时间序列和基因表达控制。 完成 我们使用了大量的分子生物学手段， 技术. 到目前为止，我们已经绘制了病毒基因组， 它的成绩单。 我们已经确定并仔细绘制了一些 重要的病毒基因产物。 我们定义了 在实验室衍生和人类中对阿昔洛韦的耐药性 VZV毒株。 最近，我们证明VZV仍然潜伏在 人类感觉神经节的卫星细胞， 并非所有VZV基因都在潜伏期表达。 我们目前 努力的重点是更好地界定自然和 控制VZV基因在潜伏感染的人体组织中的表达。

This project constitutes one of the two major laboratory research focuses of this section. The goals are to identify, map and characterize varicellazoster virus genes and proteins, expressed during active, latent, or productive infections, and to define the temporal sequence and control of gene expression. To accomplish these ends we use an extensive array of molecular biological techniques. To date we have mapped the viral genome and most of its transcripts. We have identified and carefully mapped a number of important viral gene products. We defined the molecular basis for drug resistance to acyclovir in laboratory derived and human VZV strains. Recently, we proved that VZV remains latent in satellite cells of human sensory nerve ganglia and that some, out not all, VZV genes are expressed during latency. Our current effort is most heavily directed at better defining the nature and control of VZV gene expression in latently infected human tissues.