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Initial Characterization of Vaccinia Virus B6
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- Author / Creator
- Burton, Robyn-Lee
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Vaccinia virus, the prototypic poxvirus, is remarkably successful at circumventing the host immune response using an array of dedicated proteins. Studying these immune modulators and immunomodulatory strategies has lead to their use in therapeutics. The present work provides an initial characterization of the previously uncharacterized VACV-B6R, a potential addition to the immunomodulatory arsenal of poxviruses. Here we show that B6 is expressed early and localizes to the ER via a C-terminal transmembrane domain. Homologues of B6R are confined to a subset of orthopoxviruses, however some have become pseudogenes across evolution. Our data demonstrates that over-expression of B6 during infection induces novel ER morphological changes. Interestingly, while over-expression of B6 slightly decreases mitochondrial membrane potential, it also confers moderate protection against TNFα-induced loss of potential. These results were reminiscent of those obtained with expression of cellular Bcl-2. The underlying mechanisms for these phenomena have yet to be solved.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2014
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.