Cathy Kenderski L&S Biological Sciences
Interaction of lentiviral capsids with host factor CPSF6
HIV is the causative agent of AIDS, which has claimed the lives of 40 million people to date. HIV is the result of cross-species transmission, where HIV-1 descends from a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that affects chimpanzees. To facilitate infection, HIV interacts with numerous host factors that promote (dependency factors) or inhibit viral replication (restriction factors). The viral capsid is the nexus of many of these interactions. While the interactions of the HIV capsid has been thoroughly examined, less work has been done to compare its protein interactions with that of various SIV capsids. My project seeks to assay the interaction between SIV capsids and CPSF6, a viral dependency factor important in nuclear entry and integration. My project particularly focuses on SIVs from grivets, mandrills, colobus monkeys, and African green monkeys. To date, no comprehensive assay of the sort has been completed: understanding how binding has evolved across lentiviruses informs our understanding of why HIV-1 was uniquely able to achieve zoonotic crossover. At large, understanding the interactions between capsid and dependency factors can inform therapeutic development.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for supporting my research this summer. This award is truly invaluable in allowing me to continue working on a project that I am deeply passionate about. I want to dedicate my career to helping people live longer, healthier lives: this funding brings me a step closer to this goal.