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Access Type

WSU Access

Date of Award

January 2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

First Advisor

Philip E. Pellett

Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread herpesvirus, causing significant disease in immunocompromised individuals and neonates. Disease manifestations include neurological disorders, cancer progression, or systemic infections. HCMV manipulates host intracellular trafficking systems for efficient replication and spread of the complete infectious particle, or virion. Mature virions are hypothesized to exit host cells via altered cellular secretory systems. Although, the regulation and mechanisms of these pathways during HCMV infection is not fully understood. My thesis work investigates a Rab GTPase, Rab3A, known for regulating forms of outbound trafficking and exhibiting increased expression during HCMV infection. My work utilizes recombinant HCMV strains encoding stability-regulated dominant negative Rab proteins, which can be rapidly activated by the addition of a small molecule, allowing for transient perturbations in protein expression. By disrupting the regulatory function(s) of the host release pathways under investigation, I can help identify if Rab3A is important for HCMV virion release.

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