Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen. It is a major cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals, especially in transplant recipients and AIDS patients. It is also a leading cause of congenital birth defects. My long-term research goal is to elucidate the interactions of HCMV with Its host cell at the molecular level, and evaluate the consequences of these interactions, especially the effects on viral replication and pathogenesis. In this proposal, I will focus on the significance of the induction of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) following HCMV infection.
My specific aims are as follows: I. Identify HCMV-response elements (HCRE)-binding proteins. Two elements, the interferon stimulated element (ISRE) and gamma-interferon activated site (GAS), have been identified responsible for HCMV-mediated ISG induction. Gel shift assays have shown that four protein complexes interact with these elements. Identification of the consensus sequence of HCRE and HCRE-binding proteins are critical for understanding molecular basis of this signal transduction pathway. I propose different experiments to approach these questions, including: (1) Test base-pair substitutions to identify the sequence motifs necessary for HCMV-mediated ISG induction. (2) Examine known HCRE-binding proteins in the interferon regulatory factor family for their roles in HCMV-mediated signal transduction pathway. (3) Purify HCRE-binding proteins by chromatography and identify these binding proteins by 2-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analysis. (4) Screen HCRE-binding proteins using a yeast one-hybrid system. (5) Screen HCRE-binding proteins using retrovirus cDNA expression libraries. II. To investigate biological significance of the induction of ISGs by HCMV infection. HCMV envelope glycoprotein B (gB) has been identified for initiating this signal transduction pathway. Importance of initiating this signal pathway in HCMV replication will be studied using biochemical and genetic approaches, including: (1) The roles of HCMV activated proteins in the induction of ISGs and HCMV IE genes will be studied. (2) Mutate two GAS elements in the HCMV major IE promoter and examine their roles in viral gene expression and replication.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI050709-04
Application #
6861753
Study Section
Virology Study Section (VR)
Program Officer
Beisel, Christopher E
Project Start
2002-09-01
Project End
2007-02-28
Budget Start
2005-03-01
Budget End
2006-02-28
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$272,125
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
623946217
City
Newark
State
NJ
Country
United States
Zip Code
07107
Dulal, Kalpana; Cheng, Tong; Yang, Lianwei et al. (2016) Functional analysis of human cytomegalovirus UL/b' region using SCID-hu mouse model. J Med Virol 88:1417-26
Huang, Ying; Warden, Charles; Zhu, Hua (2013) Accurate identification of non-polyadenylated RNA using a custom human cytomegalovirus tiling array. J Virol Methods 187:90-3
Warden, Charles; Tang, Qiyi; Zhu, Hua (2011) Herpesvirus BACs: past, present, and future. J Biomed Biotechnol 2011:124595
Huang, Ying; Tang, Qiyi; Nguyen, Michael et al. (2011) Histone deacetylase 3, not histone deacetylase 2, interacts with the major immediate early locus of human cytomegalovirus. Virol J 8:151
Zhang, Zhen; Selariu, Anca; Warden, Charles et al. (2010) Genome-wide mutagenesis reveals that ORF7 is a novel VZV skin-tropic factor. PLoS Pathog 6:e1000971
Dulal, Kalpana; Zhang, Zhen; Zhu, Hua (2009) Development of a gene capture method to rescue a large deletion mutant of human cytomegalovirus. J Virol Methods 157:180-7
Syed, Uwais M; Woo, Amy F; Plakogiannis, Fotios et al. (2008) Cochleates bridged by drug molecules. Int J Pharm 363:118-25
Zhang, Zhen; Huang, Ying; Zhu, Hua (2008) A highly efficient protocol of generating and analyzing VZV ORF deletion mutants based on a newly developed luciferase VZV BAC system. J Virol Methods 148:197-204
Zhang, Zhen; Rowe, Jenny; Wang, Weijia et al. (2007) Genetic analysis of varicella-zoster virus ORF0 to ORF4 by use of a novel luciferase bacterial artificial chromosome system. J Virol 81:9024-33
Yang, Shaojun; Ghanny, Saleena; Wang, Weijia et al. (2006) Using DNA microarray to study human cytomegalovirus gene expression. J Virol Methods 131:202-8

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