Richer Etienne, Qureshi Salman T, Vidal Silvia M, Malo Danielle
Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Mamm Genome. 2008 May;19(5):309-17. doi: 10.1007/s00335-008-9114-0. Epub 2008 Jun 17.
The perpetual evolution of drug-resistant microbes, the overwhelming burden of acquired immune suppression due to HIV, the emergence or re-emergence of various pathogens (West Nile virus, pandemic influenza, Creutzfeld-Jacob disease), and increased fears of bioterrorism has drawn a great deal of new attention to infectious diseases. The pathogenesis of infection is characterized by complex interactions of potentially virulent microorganisms with host genetic and acquired factors. Chemical mutagenesis of the mouse genome provides a robust method to unravel this challenging problem. To deepen our understanding of the natural host response to pathogens, our team and others are interrogating the mouse genome to define genes that are crucial to the defense against infectious diseases (pathogen recognition, viral defense, bacterial defense, prion infection). In this review we highlight the current progress of these efforts and propose a toolbox for other groups that are interested in this endeavor.
耐药微生物的不断演变、由艾滋病毒导致的后天免疫抑制的沉重负担、各种病原体（西尼罗河病毒、大流行性流感、克雅氏病）的出现或再度出现，以及对生物恐怖主义的恐惧加剧，都使得传染病重新受到了极大的关注。感染的发病机制以潜在致病微生物与宿主遗传及后天因素之间的复杂相互作用为特征。对小鼠基因组进行化学诱变提供了一种强有力的方法来解决这一具有挑战性的问题。为了加深我们对宿主对病原体的天然反应的理解，我们团队以及其他团队正在研究小鼠基因组，以确定对抵御传染病至关重要的基因（病原体识别、病毒防御、细菌防御、朊病毒感染）。在这篇综述中，我们强调了这些努力的当前进展，并为其他对这一研究感兴趣的团队提出了一个工具箱。
