Characterization of respiratory viruses using proteomic techniques

Abstract

Respiratory viruses such as Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Influenza A virus are common viral causes of respiratory tract infections. Currently, there is no vaccine against RSV. For influenza, although there are vaccines to prevent influenza epidemics, the vaccine strains have to be changed frequently to include the emerging strains of influenza. To overcome these difficulties and to effectively control these infections, it is important to know the host cellular proteins affecting the life cycle of these viruses within the cell. This will be useful in developing new antiviral strategies which target not only the virus proteins but also the host factors involved in the virus replication.