Research
Overview
Parvoviruses contain a small linear single-stranded DNA genome between 4.5-5.5 kb in length that has palindromic hairpin termini which serve as the origins of DNA replication. The viral genome is encapsidated within a non-enveloped, icosahedral virion, approximately 20 nm in diameter.
Parvoviruses that infect humans are 1) Human parvovirus B19 (B19V), which is the etiological agent of the fifth disease in children, several hematological disorders, including aplastic crisis and pure read cell aplasia, and hydrops fetalis in pregnant women; 2) Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) that causes lower respiratory tract infections in young children; and 3) Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), which are non-pathogenic to humans and used as vectors for human gene therapy.
Qiu lab focuses on studying human parvoviruses B19V, HBoV1, and AAVs. The lab has chosen to investigate how these human parvoviruses utilize cellular DNA replication and DNA repair mechanisms for their DNA replication, how the viral genes are transcribed, processed, and translated to govern the production of progeny virions, and, for B19V and HBoV1, how the viral infections initiate, subvert the cellular defense mechanism, and eventually kill the infected cells. These fundamental studies will help understand the pathogenesis of human parvovirus infection, which will lead to identifying novel targets for the development of antiviral drugs to control viral infection and will also help to develop better parvoviral vectors for human gene therapy. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we modulate SARS-CoV-2 infection of human airway epithelia and identify anti-virals.
Current ongoing projects:
1. Development of recombinant AAV and HBoV1 vectors for gene delivery into human airways.
2. Study of human virus infection in human airway epithelia.
3. Understanding molecular mechanisms of virus infection in human erythroid progenitors.
