Grant: Project Grant

Detection of a viral infection by the host cells relies on the detection of the viral nucleic acids by receptors present in the cytosol of the cells. Transmission of the signal from virus recognition to gene induction requires the coordinated activation of multiple cell signaling networks. The mechanisms allowing this fine regulation of the response are only beginning to be discovered. One of the central proteins in the activation and coordination of antiviral pathways is a protein called MAVS. Our group is interested in the regulation of the antiviral response by reactive oxygen species. The published data, as well as our current research, makes it possible to hypothesize that reactive oxygen species have the ability to modify the MAVS protein to regulate its activation. The characterization of these mechanisms requires not only molecular and biochemical approaches, but also molecular modeling approaches to understand the impact of redox modifications on MAVS. This study proposes innovative approaches to better understand the regulation of antiviral signaling pathways. The data generated may open the way for the development of molecular screening assays targeting the activation of MAVS.