MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS Unit (MIPA)

Leader: Thomas MICHIELS
Email: michielsmipa.ucl.ac.be
website: www.icp.ucl.ac.be/mipa/cornelis/
contact: MIPA
               Avenue Hippocrate 74 - UCL 74.49
               1200 BRUXELLES
               Tel: +32 2/764.74.49
               Fax: +32 2/764.74.98
MIPA-VIRO Unit Directory (People)
Research interest
    Theiler's Encephalomyelitis Virus: Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV or Theiler's virus) is a murine picornavirus responsible for infections of the central nervous system. Strains of Theiler's virus have a striking ability to persist in the central nervous system in spite of a specific cellular and humoral immune response. Persistence of the virus is associated with a strong inflammatory response and with lesions of primary demyelination reminiscent of those found in human multiple sclerosis. The genome of Theiler's virus is an 8 kb-long positive strand RNA molecule.
    Theiler's virus is an outstanding model to analyze the basic mechanisms of viral persistence and demyelination. i) It replicates and persists in the central nervous system in the face of a specific humoral and cellular immune response. ii) It induces chronic demyelination in mice. iii) It is a natural pathogen of the mouse and allows the experimental analysis of a natural host-pathogen interaction. iv) Its genome is cloned and can be manipulated by the tools of molecular biology. Our work aims at understanding how a virus can persist in the central nervous system of an immunocompetent host, thus evading the immune response. We analyze viral and cellular determinants of tropism and persistence. We notably analyze the interferon response and the inhibition of this response by Theiler's virus, in the context of the central nervous system.

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