Hantavirus reverse genetics and innate immune responses

汉坦病毒是一组能导致小鼠、大鼠和其他啮齿动物终身感染而不引起疾病的病毒。然而，如果人类因吸入被感染的啮齿动物尿液污染的灰尘而受到感染，他们可能会患上严重的疾病，如肾综合征出血热和汉坦病毒肺综合征。死亡率可高达35%。我们想了解汉坦病毒如何在分子水平上生长以及它们如何处理细胞的细节？防御机制。为了帮助这些研究，我们将开发一种方法，应用重组DNA技术来制造基因组中含有特定遗传变化的病毒，这些变化在生长特性上减弱，可以用作潜在的疫苗。此外，我们的研究将提供重要的新信息，可能有助于新的抗病毒药物的设计。

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that cause lifelong infections mice, rats and other rodents without causing disease. However, if humans become infected by inhaling infected-rodent urine contaminated dust, they can become very ill with severe diseases called haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Death rates can be as high as 35%. We want to understand details of how hantaviruses grow at the molecular level and how they deal with the cell?s defence mechanisms. To aid these studies we will develop methodology to apply recombinant DNA techniques to make viruses containing defined genetic changes in their genomes that are debilitated in their growth properties and could be used as potential vaccines. In addition, our studies will provide important new information that may help in the design of new antiviral drugs.