Development of a rapid diagnostic system for flavivirus infections focussing on the functional domains of non-structural proteins.

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25670267
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Laboratory medicine
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: IDO Eiji 東京医科歯科大学, 医歯(薬)学総合研究科, 教授 (70183176)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): IBUKI Kentaro 京都大学, 大学院医学研究科, 准教授 (00273524)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: フラビウイルス / デング熱 / ウエストナイル熱 / 黄熱病 / 鑑別診断

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mosquitoe-borne flavivirus infections such as dengue fever, West Nile fever, and yellow fever etc. exhibit clinically similar symptoms. Besides, they are sometimes serologically cross-reactive, Therefore, it was very difficult to diagnose them only by conventinal immunological tests. This study aimed at developing a rapid diagnostic system by a single universal genetic test. By scrutinizing the whole viral genomic sequences on database, we have found that part of their viral non-structural NS5 genes coding a methyltransferase and an RNA polymerase essential for viral replication would be able to differentiate the respective flavivirus species and that actually the RT-PCR by use of a set of universal primers on the concerned NS5 region clearly can tell at least 4 different serotypes of dengue viruses.

Free Research Field

ウイルス学