Includes bibliography.

[Truncate abstract] Flaviviruses are small, positive-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the family Flaviviridae. Flavivirus infection in humans could cause diseases ranging from febrile illnesses to fatal encephalitis. Mice provide a useful small animal model to study flavivirus-induced encephalitis in humans since mice also develop encephalitis during flavivirus infection. Some strains of mice have been shown to be resistant to flavivirus challenge and this resistance is conferred by a single autosomal dominant gene, designated as Flvr. Recently, OAS1b gene has been identified to be a gene candidate for Flvr. Several congenic resistant mouse strains have been developed by introducing resistance genes from outbred or wild mice onto the genetic background of susceptible C3H mice. These new resistant strains that carry different allelic variants at the Flv locus include C3H/PRI-Flvr (RV), C3H.MOLD-Flvmr (MOLD) and C3H.M.domesticus-Flvr-like (DUB), the latter two being developed in the same laboratory in which the work described in this thesis was accomplished. Preliminary studies in this laboratory found that flavivirus resistant mice are vulnerable to certain flavivirus infections, particularly when challenged by intracerebral (i.c.) route. Intracerebral (i.c.) challenge with flaviviruses such as West Nile virus (WNV) Sarafend strain and Kunjin virus (KUNV) MRM16 strain were found to induce high mortality in flavivirus resistant mice while infection with Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) OR2 strain did not cause any apparent disease in the same mice. ... Thus, it can be concluded that CD8+ T cells exerted harmful effect to resistant DUB mice during KUNV i.c. infection by producing excessive IFN[gamma] that could be toxic, causing functional loss of the CNS cells. It was shown from in vitro studies that WNV had the highest tropism for macrophages and dendritic cells, followed by KUNV. MVEV however did not replicate well in these cells. This combined with the data from the in vivo studies indicates that macrophages might be involved in the pathogenesis of intraperitoneal (i.p.) infection of WNV but not KUNV and MVEV. The reason for this could be that the production of KUNV in macrophages may not be high enough to induce viraemia and subsequent fatal encephalitis in mice. In contrast, MVEV appears to use different mechanism or cells for virus dissemination. Although macrophages may not be involved in KUNV pathogenesis after i.p. infection, the fact that macrophages support KUNV replication in vitro may indicate the possibility that blood-borne macrophages were recruited to the brain where they can get infected with KUNV during i.c. infection and therefore could participate in KUNV pathogenesis in DUB mice. This study provides evidence for the first time on the detrimental effect of host antiviral immunity and inflammatory mediators during flavivirus i.c. infection in resistant mice. However, it also launches a new question on the selective cell tropism of KUNV versus MVEV responsible for inducing different pattern of immune responses and consequently leading to different outcomes of infection in resistant mice.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 2, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in Biology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ67889.

No description available.

Copy of author's previously published article on back end-paper. / Bibliography: leaves 105-158. / xii, 160, [58] leaves, [35] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Studies the early events in the synthesis of HIV RNA and integration if viral DNA using a cell-to-cell transmission of infection model. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

The Picornavirus family of positive sense RNA viruses includes some significant human and animal pathogens including Poliovirus (PV), Foot-and-Mouth disease virus (FMDV) and Human Rhinovirus (HRV). The genome is translated within the host cell into a polyprotein that is proteolytically cleaved into the structural and nonstructural proteins. The highly conserved, non-structural protein 2C has numerous roles during the virus life cycle and is essential for virus replication. Although the protein has been well studied in the case of PV, its interactions with the host cell during picornavirus infection is poorly understood. Theiler’s Encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) is a picornavirus that infects mice, and is being used in our laboratory as a model in which to study the 2C protein. In this study, polyclonal antibodies against the TMEV 2C protein were generated and used to localise the protein in infected cells by indirect immunofluorescence. To produce antigen for immunisation purposes, the TMEV-2C protein sequence was analysed to identify hydrophilic and antigenic regions. An internal region of the 2C representing amino acid residues 31-210 was selected, expressed in bacteria and purified by nickel NTA affinity chromatography. Time course analysis of 2C (31-210) showed that the peptide was maximally expressed at 5 hours post induction. The peptide was solubilised using a mild detergent and 1.5 mg of purified antigen was used for immunisation of rabbits. Western blot analysis confirmed that the antibodies could detect both bacteriallyexpressed antigen, and virally-expressed 2C. Examination of virus-infected baby hamster kidney cells by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy using the antiserum (anti-TMEV 2C antibodies) showed that the protein had a diffuse distribution upon early infection and at later stages it was located in a large perinuclear structure representing the viral replication complex. Furthermore, 2C localised to the Golgi apparatus as revealed by dual-label immunofluorescence using anti-TMEV 2C antibodies and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Furthermore, it was shown that TMEV infection results in changes in cell morphology and a redistribution of the cytoskeletal protein, β-actin. The successful production of antibodies that recognise TMEV 2C opens the way for further studies to investigate interactions between 2C and hostencoded factors.

No description available.