Zoonotic viruses are viruses that can be transmitted between animals and humans. Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses that are transmitted to humans via rodent excreta. The main focus of our research is to understand how hantaviruses cause disease in humans. Depending on the virus strain, hantaviruses can cause two severe diseases in humans - hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), in Europe and Asia, and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in the Americas. HFRS and HPS both give rise to acute flu-like illness with fever, headache, and stomachache as common symptoms. HFRS often causes a transient renal dysfunction while HPS primarily affects the lungs and can rapidly progress into life-threatening lung failure. In contrast to HFRS, which is seldom fatal, HPS has a case-fatality rate of up to 40%. The mechanisms behind how hantaviruses cause disease are unknown and no FDA/EMA-approved hantavirus vaccine or treatment exists.
Upon infection, hantavirus spreads systemically via endothelial cells. Hallmarks of HFRS and HPS include strong inflammatory responses and increased vascular permeability. Using blood samples from HFRS/HPS patients and in vitro infection models, we try to identify key mechanisms behind how hantaviruses cause inflammation in humans, and the consequences of this inflammation. Mapping of the human immune response to hantavirus allows us to search for immunological factors that are associated with disease severity and fatality. To explore the mechanisms behind these findings, we re-capitulate these responses using in vitro infection models with primary endothelial cells and immune cells. Moreover, by comparing the effects of different hantaviruses of varying pathogenicities, we can identify disease-driving pathways.
