PERSISTENCE OF CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER VIRUS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: MODELING TICK INFECTION WITH HAZARA AND DUGBE VIRUSES.
Résumé
Climate change and ecosystem collapse promote geographic expansion of vector-borne diseases, as witnessed by the recent incursions into Spain of the virus responsible for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHFV). CCHFV is maintained in a tick-vertebrate, principally involving ticks of the genus Hyalomma. Faced with the spread of Hyalomma ticks, and therefore the threat of a natural introduction of CCHFV into Western Europe, appropriate surveillance tools and control measures need to be implemented. It is in and through the tick that CCHFV is maintained and spread in the environment. The tick itself does not seem to be affected by this viral infection. One of the challenges in implementing control strategies is to understand the molecular mechanisms that intimately link the virus to its arthropod host. Despite the central role of the tick in the biology of CCHFV, these mechanisms have not yet been described, in part because of the constraints associated with handling CCHFV-infected ticks in a biosafety level 4 containment.
We propose to model CCHFV tick infection using Hazara and Dugbe viruses, which are handled in BSL2 and BSL3 contained facilities, respectively. This project will define the tick tissues in which the virus replicates during the different stages of the tick cycle (moulting, reproduction) in vivo, and, using tick cell lines in vitro, characterize the molecular dialogue (viral protein-tick protein interactions, viral genomic RNA-tick protein interactions, antiviral immune pathways) that enables CCHFV to persist within Hyalomma ticks and confers on the Hyalomma tick its ability to regulate viral infection, thereby maintaining the virus in the environment and ensuring viral transmission.
Domaines
Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)