Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author  

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：American Society for Microbiology  

ABSTRACT

Human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) U14 is a virion protein with little known function in virus propagation. Here, we elucidated its function by constructing and analyzing U14-mutated viruses. We found that U14 is essential for HHV-6A propagation. We then constructed a mutant virus harboring dysfunctional U14. This virus showed severely reduced growth and retarded maturation. Taken together, these data indicate that U14 plays an important role during HHV-6A maturation.

DOI： 10.1128/jvi.02492-15

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Public Library of Science (PLoS)  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0137420

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Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：American Society for Microbiology  

ABSTRACT

The ORF49 tegument protein of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is one of the core gene products that is conserved among herpesvirus family members. Although ORF49 is known to be a cell-tropic factor, its detailed functions remain elusive. ORF44 is another core gene product reported to be essential, although its characterization and detailed functional analysis have not been reported. These two core gene products form a complex in other herpesviruses beyond the host species and herpesvirus subfamilies. Here, we show that complex formation between ORF44 and ORF49 is conserved in VZV. We serendipitously found that binding is eliminated by an amino acid substitution at position 129 (phenylalanine 129), and four amino acids in the carboxyl-terminal half of the acidic cluster in ORF49 (i.e., aspartate-phenylalanine-aspartate-glutamate from positions 41 to 44 [41DFDE44]) were identified as its binding motif. Alanine substitutions in each domain rendered the ORF44F129A mutation lethal for VZV, similar to deletion of the entire ORF44. The phenotype of the ORF49-41AAAA44 mutation was comparable to that of the ORF49-defective virus, including small-plaque formation, impaired growth, and low infectious virus production. These results suggest that the interaction between ORF44 and ORF49 is essential for their role in VZV infection and that ORF49 is required for the efficient production of infectious progeny virus mediated by the conserved interaction between the two proteins.

DOI： 10.1128/jvi.02245-13

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)  

Abstract

Concanavalin A (Con A) treatment induces severe hepatitis in mice in a manner dependent on T cells, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Treatment with the anticoagulant heparin protects against hepatitis, despite healthy production of IFN-γ and TNF. Here, we investigated molecular and cellular mechanisms for hypercoagulation-mediated hepatitis. After Con A challenge, liver of wild-type (WT) mice showed prompt induction of Ifnγ and Tnf, followed by messenger RNA expression of tissue factor (TF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which initiate blood coagulation and inhibit clot lysis, respectively. Mice developed dense intrahepatic fibrin deposition and massive liver necrosis. In contrast, Ifnγ^−/− mice and Ifnγ^−/− Tnf ^−/− mice neither induced Pai1 or Tf nor developed hepatitis. In WT mice TF blockade with an anti-TF monoclonal antibody protected against Con A–induced hepatitis, whereas Pai1 ^−/− mice were not protected. Both hepatic macrophages and sinusoidal endothelial cells (ECs) expressed Tf after Con A challenge. Macrophage-depleted WT mice reconstituted with hematopoietic cells, including macrophages deficient in signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) essential for IFN-γ signaling, exhibited substantial reduction of hepatic Tf and of liver injuries. This was also true for macrophage-depleted Stat1 ^−/− mice reconstituted with WT macrophages. Exogenous IFN-γ and TNF rendered T-cell-null, Con A–resistant mice deficient in recombination-activating gene 2, highly susceptible to Con A–induced liver injury involving TF. Conclusions: Collectively, these results strongly suggest that proinflammatory signals elicited by IFN-γ, TNF, and Con A in both hepatic macrophages and sinusoidal ECs are necessary and sufficient for the development of hypercoagulation-mediated hepatitis. (Hepatology 2013)

DOI： 10.1002/hep.26027

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Authorship：Lead author  

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper, summary (national, other academic conference)  

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper, summary (national, other academic conference)  

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Authorship：Lead author   Publishing type：Research paper, summary (national, other academic conference)  

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Presentation type：Poster presentation  

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Presentation type：Oral presentation (invited, special)  

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Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

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Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

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Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

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