Innate Immunity to Hepatitis C: The Chimeric Mouse Model
This program brings together three groups of excellence in HCV research to define the parameters of virus and host immune regulation that control the outcome of HCV infection. The design of each project includes both unique studies and strong interactions with other projects. This, with facilitation from an administrative core, derives a central collaborative effort to define and validate novel virus/host interactions that can serve as a basis for immunomodulatory therapeutic strategies to control HCV infection and spread. With the recent development and characterization of a small animal model (the chimeric mouse) for the study of HCV infection there now exists a suitable and manageable in vivo system for molecular/genetic and immunologic analysis of HCV infection. |
