Virus Structures

格拉斯哥大学MRC-病毒研究中心(CVR)的首席研究员David Bhella博士和共同研究员Edward Hutchinson博士。病毒结构计划旨在了解蛋白质是如何组装成功能病毒颗粒的。我们正在研究几种具有医学和兽医重要性的病毒，包括呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)、单纯疱疹病毒和寨卡病毒，主要重点是流感病毒。流感病毒会导致呼吸道感染的频繁爆发，并可能导致严重疾病。当我们在实验室培养流感病毒时，它通常会产生球形病毒颗粒。另一方面，最近从临床感染中分离出来的流感也能够形成极长的丝状病毒颗粒。这些细丝的这些功能尚不清楚，尽管它们已被证明对动物的传播很重要。因此，我们正在努力确定细丝在流感感染过程中所起的作用。更广泛地说，我们正在调查病毒和组成病毒颗粒的宿主蛋白的身份和结构，以及它们与病毒的形式和功能之间的关系。为此，我们正在开发研究病毒组成和结构的新方法；特别是通过开创性的方法来确定细胞内病毒相关分子的形状。这些研究可能会让我们定义治疗流感和其他病毒的新方法。

Dr David Bhella, Lead Investigator and Dr Edward Hutchinson as a Co-Investigator, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR)University of Glasgow.The virus structure programme aims to understand how proteins are assembled into functional virus particles. We are investigating several viruses of medical and veterinary importance including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpes simplex virus and Zika virus, with a primary focus on influenza (flu) virus. Flu viruses cause frequent outbreaks of respiratory infections and can cause severe disease. When we grow flu virus in the lab, it typically produces spherical virus particles. On the other hand, flu that has recently been isolated from clinical infections is also able to form extremely long, filamentous virus particles. These function of these filaments is unknown, though they have been shown to be important for transmission in animals. We are therefore working to define the role filaments play during flu infections. More broadly, we are investigating the identity and structure of the virus and host proteins that make up virus particles and how these relate to viruses’ form and function. To do so, we are developing new approaches to studying virus composition and structure; in particular, by pioneering methods for determining the shape of virus-related molecules within the cell. These studies may allow us to define new ways to treat flu and other viruses.