Projects & Grants
| Viruses of trypanosomatids: maintenance and transmission | |
|---|---|
| Project Id | 24-10009S |
| Main solver | prof. MSc. Vjačeslav Jurčenko, Ph.D. |
| Period | 1/2024 - 12/2026 |
| Provider | Standardní projekt GA ČR |
| State | solved |
| Anotation | The current proposal aims to investigate diverse viruses of trypanosomatids, but the main focus of the project will be on Leishmania RNA viruses (LRVs), which are implicated in the control of leishmaniasis severity. The disease remains a public health concern affecting over 1.2 million people worldwide annually. Even though the clinical picture of the disease usually depends on the infecting Leishmania species and the immune status of the host, our understanding of the molecular factors modulating the etiology of leishmaniases remains rather limited. One such a factor is the presence of LRVs, which suppress the anti-leishmanial immune response of the vertebrate host and, thus, provide a survival advantage to the parasites. In the case of LRV1 and L. guyanensis, the virus facilitates chronic inflammation and spread of the parasite to secondary sites. In this project we will investigate how viruses are maintained and horizontally transmitted between different species of trypanosomatids. |
