Our lab has a long-standing interest in understanding the biological roles of Histone Deacetylases (HDACs), enzymes which are of high medical relevance in multiple settings (e.g. Kwon et al., G&D, 2007; Zhang et al., MCB 2008; Yamaguchi et al., G&D 2010; Jacob et al., Nat Neurosci 2011). We have recently identified an unexpected novel role for HDAC6 and Ubiquitin in infection by influenza virus: in this case, HDAC6, by interacting with ubiquitin and motor proteins, forms the basis of a molecular module that helps viral uncoating and facilitates infection (Banerjee et al., Science 2014).
Funded by the
Swiss initiative for Systems Biology (SystemsX.ch), the
VirX project follows a multi-disciplinary approach and brings together several labs with key expertise in virology, deacetylases, biochemistry, structural biology and mathematical analysis. The overall aim of the VirX consortium is to expand these initial observations to get a detailed understanding of the role of the HDAC6/Ubiquitin module for infection by influenza and other viruses. This will include a diverse set of experimental techniques such as molecular and structural studies, cell biological analysis, transgenic mouse work, shRNA screenings and mathematical modeling.
The project in the group of Prof. Matthias will in particular focus on understanding in detail the formation and regulation of the HDAC6/Ubiquitin module, identifying modulators and analyzing in vivo outcomes in mice that have been engineered to alter the pathway.