Adaptation of Marburg virus to rodents as a model to study viral pathogenesis: Response of the mononuclear phagocyte system (B03)

• Subject Area: Virology
• Term: from 2013 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 197785619

The extraordinary pathogenicity of Marburg virus (MARV) is species-specific: while being highly lethal for humans and primates, MARV is non-pathogenic for rodents. Nevertheless MARV can be adapted to rodents leading to a lethal variant after several consecutive blind passages. Adaptation is accompanied by few defined mutations in the viral genome. The proposed project will analyze the molecular mechanisms contributing to the increased virulence of guinea pig-adapted MARV using recombinant viruses, organ-specific cells of the guinea pig mononuclear phagocytic system and a guinea pig model.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1021: RNA Viruses: RNA Metabolism, Host Response and Pathogenesis
• Applicant Institution: Philipps-Universität Marburg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Stephan Becker