Reporter constructs
for live-cell analysis of dengue virus infection
The overall objective of this project is
to study dengue virus-host cell interactions through live-cell analysis
of infected cells. Dengue infection is known to induce significant
changes in cellular function. However, most in vitro studies have
either used unsorted cultures, reflecting both direct and indirect
effects of viral infection, or have destroyed cell integrity by
permeabilization and fixation to identify dengue-infected cells by
immunostaining. This project will differentiate direct and
indirect effects of dengue infection in vitro non-destructively by
developing novel technology to identify dengue-infected cells. The
goal of this project will be to develop and evaluate modified constructs
for labeling of dengue-infected cells. We will build on promising
preliminary data showing cleavage of a synthetic target for the dengue
protease to a) develop reporter constructs for all four dengue
stereotypes, b) develop reporter constructs that permit sorting of
dengue-infected cells.
Please note that this project will take place on URI's Providence
Campus.
