Finding roadblocks to viral infection

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. will initiate a collaboration to improve the prevention of respiratory viral infections. Unfortunately, only a small proportion of vaccines and drugs in development for the prevention or treatment of these infections are ultimately approved. For the most part, this can be explained by the fact that laboratory experiments are often not representative of the disease in humans. The aim of this research collaboration is to understand better the infection pathway of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a major cause of respiratory infections in infants and the elderly. We will use novel methods to study the genes and proteins of the RSV infection pathway in human lung cells grown in laboratory conditions. This knowledge will be used to develop novel vaccines or prevention strategies directed against RSV and ultimately other respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2.