Structural and functional studies of Lassa fever virus multifunctional nucleoprotein

拉沙热病毒(LASV)每年导致数千人死亡，是一种潜在的生物治疗试剂，目前还没有疫苗，治疗也有限。我们将揭示病毒如何逃避宿主免疫系统并窃取宿主细胞的mRNA帽的新机制，以及病毒如何结合基因组RNA和NP形成寡聚体。从拉沙热病毒研究中学到的知识无疑将有助于未来开发有效的疫苗和抗病毒药物来对抗致命的出血热引起病毒(ArenaVirus)。

Lassa fever virus (LASV) kills thousands of people every year and is a potential biothreat reagent, for which there is no vaccine and limited therapy. We will reveal the novel mechanisms how the virus evades the host immune system and steals mRNA cap of host cells, as well as how the virus binds genomic RNA and NP forms oligomers. Knowledge learned from this study of Lassa fever virus will undoubtedly help facilitate future development of effective vaccines and antivirals against deadly hemorrhagic fever-causing viruses (arenaviruses).