The Role of Innate Immunity and Oxidant Stress Genes in Viral Infection and Disease Progression
Environmental Genetics
This project was designed to investigate the role of innate immunity genes and oxidant stress genes in susceptibility to viral infection, with particular emphasis on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Through collaborations with Fernando Polack, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Donald Cook, Ph.D., and Farhad Imani, Ph.D., of NIEHS, the group has utilized positional cloning and candidate gene approaches to identify key determinants of responsiveness to RSV. The group is currently applying these novel discoveries to a cohort—directed by Polack—of RSV-infected children in Argentina through the INFANT Foundation in Buenos Aires.
Ongoing Projects in the Laboratory:
Role of NRF2 in response to respiratory syncytial virus infection
Positional cloning of genes for susceptibility to severe lung injury induced by respiratory syncytial virus infection
Mechanisms through which the cysteine noose of the attachment glycoprotein of respiratory syncytial virus inhibits the innate immune response
Association of candidate gene SNPs with differential disease severity among children with RSV infection
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