Previous virus researchAnother major line of our research is to decipher the intrinsic antiviral immunity of pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of diverse origins, with the overarching goal of establishing stem cells and derivative organoids as novel experimental platforms to study antiviral responses. I have a broad background in virology and stem cell biology, with specific training and expertise in key research areas for this line of research. My Ph.D. training was in virus-host interactions studying plant single-stranded positive sense RNA virus and its associated satellite RNAs for their functions in symptom modulation. As a postdoctoral fellow at Lineberger Cancer in UNC-Chapel Hill, I have conducted studies using infectious Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as gene therapy vectors. See previous virus research publications here:
https://stemcellwanglab.weebly.com/prior-to-2006.html. ongoing VIRUS RESEARCHOne of our published study (Guallar D. et al. 2018, Nature Genetics) focuses on how TET2 is recruited to chromatin in pluripotent stem cells to repress endogenous retrovirus (ERV) expression, facilitated by RNA-binding protein PSPC1. This repression occurs both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally, highlighting ERVs as key regulatory elements in stem cell biology. We believe that ERV exaptation may contribute to stem cell antiviral immunity by regulating genes involved in the antiviral response, leveraging ancient viral sequences for cellular defense mechanisms.
We are applying an interdisciplinary approach that combines stem cell biology, developmental biology, virology, immunology, and infectious diseases to discover novel antiviral pathways. Our ultimate goal is to provide lead molecules as targets for the development of broad, new antiviral regimens. |