Analyses of the transcriptional profile of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at different viral titrations

• Grant number: 23/14446-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: November 01, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health
• Principal Investigator: Rejane Maria Tommasini Grotto
• Grantee: Agatha Mayume Silva Kubo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/07577-6 - Analysis of the transcriptional profile of syncytial virus (RSV) at different viral titers, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the leading causes of severe respiratory diseases in children under 5 years of age. In 2015, RSV was responsible for approximately 3.2 million pediatric hospitalizations worldwide. Moreover, there is no effective medication or vaccine against RSV. Therefore, the goal of this project is to compare the gene expression of Vero cells infected with RSV A and B using viral infections titrations mimicking severe and mild infections. Moreover, we intended to analyze the interaction network between long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and proteins to determine whether lncRNAs are associated with the clinical outcomes of patients affected by the RSV virus. Viral samples will be obtained from individuals treated at the Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu - UNESP, whose positive diagnosis was confirmed through the viral panel (XGEN MULTI PR24 kit (XGen)) and subsequent viral genome sequencing. Vero cells will be exposed to viral titrations mimicking severe and mild infections, and their RNA will be extracted for transcriptome and lncRNA analyses.