Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Virology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Virology

Regulation Of Mhc Ii Trafficking And Expression By Host And Viral Factors, Alex Lac Jul 2022

Regulation Of Mhc Ii Trafficking And Expression By Host And Viral Factors, Alex Lac

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II) to the adaptive immune system is crucial for mounting sterilizing immune responses. This central role has made antigen presentation a target for antagonism by many pathogens. Notably, infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) decrease MHC II expression in several immune cells. The mechanisms responsible for this suppression are unknown but involves either redirecting MHC II molecules away from the cell surface or inhibiting MHC II expression. To understand how pathogens manipulate intracellular MHC II trafficking, we first investigated the role of the Golgi trafficking regulator, ERC1, in …


Designing A Novel Hiv-1 Candidate Vaccine, Rahul Pawa Apr 2020

Designing A Novel Hiv-1 Candidate Vaccine, Rahul Pawa

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Currently no vaccine has been developed that can prevent the spread of HIV-1. During sexual transmission, a single viral variant called the Transmitted/Founder (T/F) purportedly with unique physical properties, establishes infection in 70-80% of individuals. Unlike previous studies that have tried to identify T/F viruses based on their structure glycan composition and amino acid sequence, we have analyzed the RNA sequences of HIV-1 to help identify T/F variants. Using a combination of both in silico data analysis and in vitro assays, we have identified that T/F viruses have higher numbers of immunostimulatory motifs than HIV virions that fail to infect. …


Endogenous, Controlled Expression Of Anti-Hiv-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibody, Darshit Patel Aug 2019

Endogenous, Controlled Expression Of Anti-Hiv-1 Broadly Neutralizing Antibody, Darshit Patel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Recently, researchers have identified a number of anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), such as VRC01 and N6, capable of targeting a broad range of HIV-1 strains. Passive immunization using these patient-derived bNAbs could provide temporary protection but are limited by the short antibody half-life. While current gene transfer technology allows sustained bNAb expression, it lacks the ability to control bNAb production in vivo resulting in possible autoimmunity. To address this issue of achieving controlled bNAb expression in vivo, we hypothesize that bNAb expression from transduced Flu-specific B cells can be activated and modulated by subsequent Flu immunizations in the …


Human Adenovirus E1a Binds And Retasks Cellular Hbre1, Blocking Interferon Signalling And Activating Virus Early Gene Transcription, Gregory J. Fonseca Jun 2013

Human Adenovirus E1a Binds And Retasks Cellular Hbre1, Blocking Interferon Signalling And Activating Virus Early Gene Transcription, Gregory J. Fonseca

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Upon infection, human adenovirus (HAdV) must block interferon signaling and activate the expression of its early genes to reprogram the cellular environment to support virus replication. During the initial phase of infection, these processes are orchestrated by the first HAdV gene expressed during infection, early region 1A (E1A). E1A binds and appropriates components of the cellular transcriptional machinery to modulate cellular gene transcription and activate viral early genes transcription. We have identified hBre1/RNF20 as a novel target of E1A. hBre1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase which acts with the Ube2b E2 conjugase and accessory factors RNF40 and WAC1 to monoubiquitinate …


Restriction Of Hiv-1 Replication By Unique Trim22 Isoforms., Clayton Hattlmann Mar 2012

Restriction Of Hiv-1 Replication By Unique Trim22 Isoforms., Clayton Hattlmann

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Understanding how the immune system reacts to HIV infection and why normal antiviral defenses are insufficient to fight infection is a key step towards creating better therapies. Several interferon-induced proteins, such as the tripartite motif protein TRIM22, are capable of restricting HIV-1 replication; however single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can dramatically impact the actions of these proteins. While the trim22 gene contains numerous SNPs, no study has addressed how these may affect TRIM22 functions. Here we provide the first direct comparison of two TRIM22 unique isoforms. Through confocal microscopy we observed these isoforms exhibit different patterns of localization. In vitro studies …