Viruses hijack the molecular machinery inside human cells to replicate, but this programme will map the common networks of host factors that different viruses exploit. This matters because most antiviral research focuses on individual viruses, leaving a gap in understanding how diverse pathogens—from influenza to emerging coronaviruses—use the same cellular pathways. Without this knowledge, treatments remain virus-specific and vulnerable to resistance. The researchers will use unbiased screening to identify shared host responses across infections, working with the Rosalind Franklin Institute and the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit to pinpoint which proteins are involved and how they contribute to viral fitness in cells and tissues. If successful, this fundamental science will reveal whether viruses use broadly conserved strategies or unique approaches to subvert host cells. The immediate impact is for the international virology community: a map of host-based therapeutic targets that could lead to broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. This is curiosity-driven research with no direct daily-life application yet, but similar fundamental work on host-pathogen interactions has previously underpinned treatments for HIV and hepatitis C.
View original technical description
Viruses are dependent on host resources to support their replication, from entry into cells to virus replication and assembly. Due to their limited coding capacity, viruses have evolved mechanisms to hijack, disarm and repurpose these host resources to promote their replication. These interactions span multiple levels, including different molecules (DNA, RNA and protein) and cellular pathways. The aim of this programme is to apply an unbiased evidence-based approach to identify common networks of host factors and host responses to infection that are conserved between divergent pathogens, unifying our understanding of how cells and tissues respond to virus infection. We will partner with the Rosalind Franklin Institute (RFI, Harwell Campus) and MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC PPU, University of Dundee) to identify how these networks are formed, the repertoire of cellular and viral proteins involved, and their functional contribution to viral fitness in both cells and tissues that support infection and coinfection. Knowledge gained from this programme will reveal the approaches employed by viruses to subvert host cells and whether these approaches are specific or broadly utilised across viruses. Discoveries from this programme will benefit the international virology community through the identification of new host-based therapeutic targets for intervention, reinforcing the reputation of the CVR as an international leading centre for virus research.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know