03/19/2021
New NIH Grant to Study Antiviral Factor in Human Cytomegalovirus
Christine O’Connor, PhD, Genomic Medicine Institute, and Michelle Longworth, PhD, Department of Inflammation & Immunity, have been awarded a two-year, roughly $440,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the antiviral role of the protein NCAPD3 in the host response to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV).
HCMV is an extremely common virus found in more than 70 percent of the U.S. population. After initial infection, HCMV establishes lifelong latency, where it lies dormant in an individual’s cells. HCMV rarely causes symptoms in healthy individuals, but it can lead to severe illness and death for those with weakened immune systems. Currently, there is no vaccine or cure.
With this grant, Drs. O’Connor and Longworth seek to clarify how host cells suppress HCMV replication. Their preliminary data indicates that NCAPD3, a protein subunit of condensin II (a large protein complex involved in organizing DNA and regulating gene transcription), is upregulated by HCMV infection and restricts viral replication. To build upon these findings, they will investigate the underlying mechanisms by which NCAPD3 combats HCMV infection and is regulated during infection.
“We aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of host cell dynamics in response to HCMV infection,” says Dr. O’Connor. ”This knowledge will lay the foundation for future development of novel therapeutics to combat HCMV infection and disease.”
“This work is exciting because it has the potential to uncover new ways in which DNA organization is manipulated in response to viral pathogens,” added Dr. Longworth.
Drs. O’Connor and Longworth received an Accelerator Award through the Cleveland Clinic Research Accelerator Concept Development Program in 2018 for this work.
Image: Christine O’Connor, PhD (left) & Michelle Longworth, PhD (right)
