cihr_grants: 163305
This data as json
| external_id | title | project_lead_name | co_researchers | institution | province | country | competition_year | award_amount | program | program_type | theme | research_subject | keywords | abstract | duration | source_url |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 163305 | Understanding the molecular determinants of shingles | Pearson Angela | Pearson, Angela | INRS - (Québec, QC) | Québec | Canada | 200802 | 76121.0 | Catalyst Grant: Skin Diseases and Conditions | Operating Grants | Biomedical | Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis | Chicken Pox; Molecular Virology; Post-Herpetic Neuralgia; Shingles; Varicella Zoster Virus; Virus-Host Cell Interaction | Shingles is a debilitating disease that causes painful and disfiguring blistering skin lesions. In many afflicted individuals, pain continues for months or years following the illness in the form of post-herpetic neuralgia. Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV). Initial infection with this virus causes chickenpox, following which the virus persists in the host in a latent form. However, in many individuals the virus will eventually reactivate causing shingles. This reactivation is associated with a weakened immune system, and thus is typically found with advancing age, as well as in immunosuppressed individuals. The availability of an attenuated chickenpox vaccine has resulted in a decrease in the incidence of this disease, and more recently an attenuated vaccine against zoster has entered the market, but in both cases efficacy is incomplete. In the context of an aging population, even with the recent vaccine advances, the impact of shingles on Canadians can be expected to remain a significant cause of long-term pain, particularly in older individuals. In order to develop new treatments for shingles, a better understanding of the interactions at the molecular level between the causative agent, VZV, and the host cell is required. VZV is a member of the neurotropic sub-family of herpesviruses, a group that also includes herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). As with HSV-1, multiple steps in the life cycle of VZV take place within the nucleus of the cell, including the maintenance of the latent genome and subsequent reactivation from latency. Our objective in this pilot project is to begin to elucidate how VZV-induced modifications of the host cell nucleus contribute to efficient viral replication. The results from this project should contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of VZV replication and reactivation, information that can then be exploited in the development of new treatment strategies for shingles. | 1 yr 0 mth | https://webapps.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/decisions/p/project_details.html?applId=163305&lang=en |