A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system for studies on host-pathogen interactions

蒙特里萨大学兽医学院（FVM）的猪传染病研究小组（GREMIP）是一个多元化的基础和应用研究小组，旨在增加我们对动物和人畜共患病的知识。随着fqrnt批准的猪传染病研究中心（CRIP）的建立，我们的研究目标变得更加充实，以增加我们对宿主与对养猪业日益重要的病毒和细菌（包括对公众健康构成最大潜在威胁的人畜共患病原体）复杂相互作用机制的理解，并将所获得的知识应用于开发诊断和抗感染预防的新工具。因此，我们的研究涉及不同但相互联系的学科，如分子生物学，宿主-病原体相互作用，基础免疫学以及病毒和细菌的发病机制。此外，由团队成员进行的应用研究侧重于制定克服抗生素耐药性的替代策略。许多研究方法需要分析来自不同宿主（小鼠、人类和猪）的特定细胞类型的细胞反应，以便研究这些细胞在遇到病原体时所经历的生物学过程。此外，还经历了病原体行为的变化，例如与抗生素耐药性有关的新基因的表达。实时PCR系统可以量化目标基因mRNA水平的变化，是实现这些研究目标的独特优势工具。事实上，这项技术克服了兽医疾病领域缺乏适当的免疫试剂（如特异性抗体）对我们研究进展的限制。该技术的多功能性、高特异性和准确的定量测量将极大地促进GREMIP/CRIP附属研究人员的各种研究目标，并实现CRIP最近确定的一个主要目标：在FMV集中建立一个独特的猪免疫工具库，以支持我们的研究以及国内和国际网络。

The Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc (GREMIP) at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FVM), Univ. de Montréal, is a diversified group of fundamental and applied researchers aimed to increase our knowledge on animal as well as zoonotic diseases. With creation of the FQRNT-granted Swine Infectious Disease Research Centre (CRIP), our research aims were bloated to increase our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the complex interactions of the host with viruses and bacteria of increased significance to the swine industry (including zoonotic agents representing the greatest potential threats to public health) and to apply the knowledge gained to the development of new tools for diagnosis and anti-infectious prophylaxis. Thus, our research involves divergent but inter-connected disciplines, such as molecular biology, host-pathogen interactions, basic immunology and viral and bacterial pathogenesis. In addition, applied research performed by team members focus, among other, on the development of alternative strategies to overcome antibiotic resistance. Many of the research approaches require analysis of cellular responses of specific cell types from diverse hosts (mouse, humans and pigs), for the purpose of studying biological processes experienced by these cells when encountering pathogens. In addition, changes in pathogen behaviour are also experienced, such as expression of new genes involved in antibiotic resistance. Real-time PCR systems, which quantify alterations in mRNA levels of the gene of interest, represent uniquely advantageous tools for achieving these research goals. Indeed, this technology overcomes limitations imposed to our research progress by the lack of appropriated immunological reagents in the field of veterinary diseases, such as specific antibodies. The versatility, high specificity, and accurate quantitative measurements obtained by this technology will greatly facilitate the various research objectives of GREMIP/CRIP-affiliated investigators as well as to achieve a major goal recently fixed by the CRIP: that is to centralize at the FMV a unique porcine immunological tool bank to support our research as well as national and international network.