Faculty

Adam P. Geballe, MD

• Professor of Medicine
• University of Washington
• Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections are very common and result in life-threatening diseases in newborns and immunocompromised patients. As well, HCMV provides a valuable model system for studies of regulation of eukaryotic gene expression at the translational level. After infection by many viruses, including HCMV, cells continue to synthesize proteins despite activation of host cell responses designed to shut off translation and thereby prevent viral replication. Studies in the Geballe lab have identified genes in HCMV and related viruses that are capable of blocking antiviral responses, especially those activated by double-stranded RNA. The proteins encoded by the HCMV genes act in part through an unconventional double-stranded RNA binding domain. As well, they self-associate and bind to the critical cellular kinase PKR. Efforts are now underway to determine the origin of the activators of PKR produced during HCMV infection and to elucidate the mechanisms by which the viral genes actually block the antiviral responses. As well, new efforts are underway to clarify how cytomegalovirus antagonists have contributed to the rapid adaptation of PKR during primate evolution.

Another new line of research aims to identify the genes and mechanisms by which poxviruses evade PKR and related host dsRNA-activated anti-viral pathways. These studies should reveal new insights into the host-virus interactions that are likely to be key determinants of the pathogenesis of viral infections and may have implications for the design of viral vaccines and vectors.

Selected Publications

Strang, B.L., A.P. Geballe, and D.M. Coen. 2010. Association of human cytomegalovirus proteins IRS1 and TRS1 with the viral DNA polymerase accessory subunit UL44. J. Gen Virology, 91:2167-2175. PMID: 20444996
[ PubMed Abstract ]

Boeckh, M. and A.P. Geballe. 2011.  Cytomegalovirus – Pathogen, Paradigm and Puzzle, J. Clin. Invest. In press.  PMC Journal – In progress.

Elde NC, Child SJ, Geballe AP, Malik HS. 2009. Protein kinase R reveals an evolutionary model for defeating viral mimicry. Nature 457:485-489.
[ PubMed Abstract ]

Child SJ, Geballe AP. 2009. Binding and relocalization of protein kinase R by murine cytomegalovirus. J. Virol. 83:1790-1799.
[ PubMed Abstract ]

Marshall EE, Bierle CJ, Brune W, Geballe AP. 2009.Essential role for either TRS1 or IRS1 in human cytomegalovirus replication. J. Virol. 83:4112-4120.
[ PubMed Abstract ]

Marshall EE, Geballe AP. 2009. Multifaceted evasion of the interferon response by cytomegalovirus. J. Interferon Cytokine Res. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):609-19.
[ PubMed Abstract ]

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