A KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) project on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been awarded.

Mechanism of Cold-Induced Inactivation of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Focusing on the Fusion Protein

Funding Program: KAKENHI – Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Principal Investigator: Yuki Kitai
Project Period: August 31, 2023 – March 31, 2025

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major cause of respiratory infections, has long been considered susceptible to inactivation at relatively high temperatures. Consequently, maintaining low temperatures has been regarded as essential for preserving viral infectivity during handling and storage.

In contrast to this conventional view, we recently discovered that recently isolated RSV strains exhibit an unusual temperature stability profile, being more readily inactivated at low temperatures. This project aims to elucidate the mechanism underlying this cold-induced loss of infectivity by focusing on the RSV fusion (F) protein, which plays a central role in viral membrane fusion and entry into host cells.

https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-23K19463/