Molecular basis of foot-and-mouth-disease viral infection
Following the acute phase of the disease, affected animals appear asymptomatic, yet they are not infection-free. These disease-carrying animals pose significant challenges to vaccination strategies, given that vaccines cannot protect against this persistent infection phase. Current knowledge of persistent viral infection in carrier animals now allows further insight into how these animals can be cured of the disease. The EC-funded FMD TROPISM looked into new molecular targets for intervention (at a therapeutic or immune level) against the persistent infection caused by the FMD virus. Project partner, UK-based Institute for Animal Health, focused on the role of the integrin proteins in infection onset. It has been known that integrins did have a role to play in viral infection, but the mechanisms were not clear before. Studies showed that the avb6 integrin was most likely involved in the targeting of epithelial cells by FMDV in bovine hosts. Apart from the importance of integrins in FMDV infection, researchers also underlined the role of heparan sulphate in integrin assembly. These observations could indicate a new era for FMD vaccine development and the emergence of new targets against the disease.
