The infection by viruses can contribute to the development of cancer in humans and animals. One common feature is their ability to control host cell growth cycle, accomplished through the action of viral oncoproteins. Viral oncoproteins manipulate cellular proteins normal functions to promote unregulated cell growth, contributing to the cancer development. Our immune system defends ourselves against infectious agents.
Antibody response is through the activation of B cells.
This interaction generates a cascade of signal transduction to activate B cell, enhancing the humoral immune response to foreign antigens by nearly 10,000 times. These studies will have a tremendous impact on biomedical research. Our experimental approach is to study the atomic structures and functions of these target proteins using a powerful modern technology, X-ray crystallography, in conjunction with other biological methods. Selected Publications Gerda Szakonyi, Joel Guthridge, Dawei Li,Kendra Young,Michael Holers and Xiaojiang Chen. RNA 2 and comparisons with RNA 2 of other comoviruses.