Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites with limited genome and thereby rely on the host cell machinery for their proliferation. Thereby viruses have evolved molecular strategies to escape the cellular innate immune surveillance and to usurp/hijack the host cell signaling to create a microenvironment conducive for viral dissemination. Most often the virus-mediated alterations to the host signaling or the response to infection paves way for the pathogenesis of the viral disease. Understanding these interactions will help in identifying the molecular mechanisms that drive viral diseases
The cellular mitochondria, membranes and cytoskeleton are primary targets of many viruses. Mitochondria serve as the hub for many cellular events and mitochondrial dynamics is considered an integral cellular process with implications in cellular homeostasis, metabolism, inflammation and innate immunity. Thus many viruses target/exploit the host mitochondria to escape cellular defense mechanisms and promote viral proliferation. The physiological perturbation associated with viral infection also affect the host mitochondria.
The complex interplay between the virus and the cellular mitochondria and the subsequent consequence on mitochondrial- metabolism, antiviral and inflammatory signaling governs the outcome of viral infection and viral disease pathogenesis. The complex interplay between the viruses and the host machinery or organelle such as mitochondria is an ever expanding and unexplored area. Characterizing these interactions will unravel the molecular cues that promote viral dissemination and disease pathogenesis.
Currently the lab is working with the flaviviruses, Dengue virus (DENV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV). During the pandemic we have also worked towards COVID-19 research and isolated local circulating strains of SARS-CoV2 and are conducting studies for repurposing of approved drugs against SARS-CoV2. We are also in the pursuit of screening compounds effective against DENV and JEV. In future we will also attempt to characterize the virus-host interactions in the pursuit of identifying therapeutic targets with pan-viral potential.
The major focus areas of the lab are;
- Characterize the virus-host interaction (with focus on interactions between viruses and cellular mitochondria, peroxisome, cytoskeleton and intracellular trafficking components).
- Elucidate the virus-host interactions that predispose to disease pathogenesis.
- Characterize the molecular events in HCV, DENV and JEV life cycle such as the entry, replication, assembly and secretion of virus particle to identify pro-viral host factors.
- Identify potential therapeutic targets and develop effective strategies to curb viral dissemination and disease pathogenesis.
- Screen for potential anti-viral compounds and elucidate their mode of action.
PhD students:
Bharati Singh
Faraz Alam Mohammad
Kiran Avula
Sayani Das
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Swagatika Panda (N-PDF)
Shamim Akhtar Sufi
Project Fellow: Sabyasachi Pattnayak
Lab Technician: Biswajita Prusty
Past Members: Ruthu Nagraj (JRF), Subham K Sahoo (Lab Technician), Debjani Tarapdhar (N-PDF), Leela Kirshna Bankapalli (PDF), Subashish Samantray (Project Fellow), Poornima Kokavalla (SRF), Preethy V Kumar (JRF)