Duke University
Grant: $54,000 - National Institutes of Health - Aug. 24, 2009
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Award Description: We are requesting funds in this administrative supplement to accelerate the pace of research proposed in our K08 award. We have been working to determine the importance of HCV Core domain 3 in the accumulation of intracellular lipid. We have addressed most of specific aims #1 and #2 from our original proposal. We propose to hire an additional lab member on a part-time of full-time basis (depending on experience) to focus on the work proposed in aim #3. This aim outlines using recombinant adenoviruses expressing HCV Core protein that we have already generated and published the results of validation experiments (Qiang et al, Virus Res. 2009 Jan;139(1):127-30). Given the relative inexperience of myself and my current lab technician and given that our current arrangement is to collect excess hepatocytes isolated by colleagues in the mentor's lab (Anna Mae Diehl), hiring a new member with experience handling animals and isolating primary cells will accelerate the pace of our work and allow us to control the timetable. Certainly, if we only have the option of hiring someone with little or no experience, our colleagues in the Diehl lab have offered to help train someone in the methods involved with hepatocyte isolation. In either case, we would be in a better position moving the project forward. With these supplemental funds, we also propose to obtain a commercially synthesized peptide and antibody for our domain 3 constructs. This will allow us to circumvent the need to use bulky epitope tags that either change the trafficking of domain 3 or that are plagued with background signal. Once the peptide is obtained, we plan to introduce it into cultured hepatocyte cells to examine if it alone can produce lipid accumulation. The accompanying antibody would be used not only for detection in this experiment but would have tremendous value moving forward for detecting 'native' domain 3 in in vivo systems including a JFH-based system that produces actual viral particles. Clearly, our proposal for use of these supplemental funds will accelerate our progress significantly and position us better for compiling a more competitive R01 proposal within the year.
Project Description: See Award Description
Jobs Summary: Jobs created and retained in the following fields: SCIENTIFIC/ELEC/RES TECHNOLOGY (Total jobs reported: 0)
Project Status: Less Than 50% Completed
This award's data was last updated on Aug. 24, 2009. Help expand these official descriptions using the wiki below.
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