Abstract

The study of herpesviruses has been fruitful, not only revealing mechanisms that drive disease, but also providing insight into diverse processes including oncogenesis and immune regulation . The Herpesviridae family includes several highly prevalent human pathogens. Many human herpesviruses belonging to the Alphaherpesvirinae {herpes simplex virus (HSV)}, Betaherpesvirinae {human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)}, and Gammaherpesvirinae {Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated virus (KSHV)} subfamilies have been scrupulously characterized. However, human herpesvirus 6A (HHV6A), HHV6B, and HHV7 (HHV6A/6B/7) are highly related members of the less well characterized Roseolovirus genus of the human Betaherpesvirinae subfamily. HHV6B is among the most prevalent human herpesviruses but little is known about its pathogenesis, disease sequelae, or the host immune response. Murine models for each of the human herpesviruses, except the Roseoloviruses, have been established. We describe and characterize a natural murine virus highly related phenotypically and genetically to HHV6A/6B/7. We therefore classify it as the murine roseolovirus (MRV). We explore various aspects of the pathogenesis and immunology within this dissertation, with hopes of establishing MRV as a tractable model for study of roseolovirus biology.

Committee Chair

Wayne M. Yokoyama

Committee Members

Paul Allen, Chyi-Song Hsieh, Takeshi Egawa, David Wang,

Comments

Permanent URL: https://doi.org/10.7936/9n65-rf43

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Author's Department

Biology & Biomedical Sciences (Immunology)

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2019

Language

English (en)

Author's ORCID

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6088-4029

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Available for download on Monday, May 15, 2119

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