Being obligate intracellular parasites, viruses have evolved a wide variety of mechanisms for recruiting, adapting, modifying, and usurping the cellular machinery in order to replicate. This course deals with the molecular aspects of viral replication with the medical features of viral infections. Lectures, intensive paper reading, presentation and discussion will all be included in the course.


Topics:
1. Virus-host cell interactions
(1) Viral and cellular gene expression during productive infection
(2) Virus-cell coexistence
(3) Resistance of the host cell and viral countermeasures
2. Viral penetration of the cell and intracellular migration
(1) Entry and uncoating
(2) Transport and integration
3. Replication and transcription of the viral genome
(1) Nucleus-based viral genome
(2) Cytoplasm-based viral genome
4. Protein synthesis during viral infection
(1) Virus-encoded translational components
(2) Viral Translation mechanisms
(3) Modification of the translation system in virus-infected cells
5. Host defenses and viral countermeasures
(1) RNA interference
(2) Cytidine deaminase block
(3) Apoptosis
6. Concepts in viral pathogenesis
(1) Evasion of host molecules and mechanisms
(2) Subversion of host molecules and mechanisms
(3) Not all virulence genes or determinants encode proteins
(4) Conceptualizing viral pathogenesis
7. Determinants of cell, organ, and tissue tropism
(1) After entry and spread what determines cell, tissue, and species tropism?
(2) immunoprivilege
8. Viral determinants of virulence
9. Fate of the infected cell, tissue, and host