Project Grant R01AI185051

This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), provides $782,871 to the University of Colorado-Denver to conduct research on understanding how arthritogenic alphaviruses, such as chikungunya and Ross River viruses, evade CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity.

The key objectives are to: 1) Determine how type I interferon signaling restricts alphavirus infection of antigen-presenting cells, thereby impairing the priming of anti-viral CD8+ T cells; 2) Investigate mechanisms by which the viral nonstructural protein 2 disrupts MHC-I antigen presentation in infected joint tissue cells; and 3) Define how the priming environment impacts the differentiation and function of CD8+ T cells in targeting virus-infected cells. The research will utilize mouse models, ex vivo cell culture, and intravital microscopy techniques to address these aims over the 5-year project period ending in March 2030.