IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OROPOUCHE VIRUS GLYCOPROTEINS: ELUCIDATION OF GC-MEDIATED HOST-PATHOGEN INTERACTIONS

• Grant number: 25/03425-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: January 01, 2026
• End date: January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Talita Diniz Melo Hanchuk
• Grantee: Ana Julia de Melo Couto
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Oropouche virus (OROV) is the etiological agent of Oropouche fever, a febrile disease with symptoms similar to those of dengue. Between 2023 and 2025, Brazil has seen a significant increase in the number of cases, with 831 cases in 2023, 13593 in 2024, and 4847 in 2025 to date. Historically, the North Region concentrated positive cases, however, the 2024 epidemic led to a widespread distribution throughout the country. Among the proteins encoded by OROV, the surface glycoproteins Gn and Gc are of particular relevance. The glycosylation of glycoproteins in Buniavirus is related to infectivity, folding of native proteins, protection of epitopes and interaction with specific receptors, but its presence and function in OROV have not yet been identified. Epidemiological and nucleic acid sequence analyses identified differences in Gc glycoprotein between the reference strains BeAN19991 and one of the emerging strains, AM0088, suggesting changes in the asparagine site predicted as glycosylation targets. In this context, the objective of this project is to identify and characterize the Gn and Gc glycoproteins in the viral strains BeAN19991 and AM0088, as well as the interaction profile with host proteins. To achieve these objectives, the mass spectrometry technique will be used to identify the glycosylation sites and the interaction profile of Gc with proteins of the infected cell, which will be validated by proximity binding and other functional analyses. The results of this study have the potential to deepen the understanding of the pathogenicity of Oropouche fever and open new possibilities for the development of therapeutic and preventive strategies.