Volume XVIII, Issue I

May 2020

Inside this issue: IMD Newsletter

Department of Immunology

& Microbial Disease

IMD NEWSLETTER

In the news... 1

Announcements 2

Peer-reviewed Publica-

tions

3

& Conferences, Meetings,

and Study Sections

4

IMD Researchers Ask: “What Can We Do to Help?”

“Naturally, the mention of novel coronavirus can spark

fear and anxiety in some. But not the scientific researchers

at Albany Medical College.

“We knew we could help,” said

Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D. For the past twenty years, Dr.

Metzger and his team of researchers have been conducting

studies on highly virulent diseases with the aim of better un-

derstanding how they function on a cellular level—

information that could yield new prevention and treatment

options.

“We knew we had the tools in place,” Dr. Metzger said, so

they decided to get to work.

Kouacou V. Konan, Ph.D., is a virologist in the depart-

ment who studies diseases like Zika and hepatitis C. Dr. Konan will look at a mild strain of coronavirus and the way it

moves and replicates inside of cells. “How does the virus infect a cell? What parts of the virus are necessary to cause

infection?” Those were the type of questions Dr. Konan would be looking at for answers. His foundation work will pro-

vide insight and a comparative model when, later this year, researchers will begin to examine COVID-19. Study of the

virus will take place inside Albany Med’s Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratory, a highly contained, state-of-the-art facil-

ity, and is one of only a few such labs in upstate New York.

Dr. Konan will be joined by Qi Yang, M.D., Ph.D., along with a team of ten (10) other researchers for continued

study of the disease. “We will need to get our feet wet,” Dr. Metzger said, who explained that there are three ways to

combat a disease like COVID-19: create a vaccine, develop an antiviral medication, or bolster the resistance of the car-

rier. “This third approach is where we will put our energies,” said Dr. Metzger, who’s landmark studies of influenza have

yielded insight on how to prevent severe lung inflammation caused by the flu, which is the major cause of flu-related

death.

“We will be looking at ways of regulating cells that could, potentially, help an organism infected with COVID-19

maintain healthy lung tissue. We will be starting at ground zero, of course—the COVID-19 strain is brand-new, but we

are hopeful our other work could help inform this study. And we’re grateful to be among the researchers worldwide who

are lending their efforts to the cause.” (Albany Med Today, 15 (3), 2020)

BSL-3 Lab Manager, Greg Hurteau, and Dr. Kouacou Konan

Michael D. Robek, Ph.D., has been awarded a new five-year, $2.5M R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy

and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health (NIAID/NIH) for his research entitled “Human Mechanisms of Virus

Persistence in an AAV-based Mouse Model of Chronic HBV Infection.”

Congratulations Dr. Robek!

Dr. Robek Receives NIH Award

PAGE 2 IMD NEWSLETTER

Researchers Discover New Pathway to Treatment of Cognitive Decline

Researchers at Albany Medical College have discovered that targeting

a specific type of immune cell in the aged brain might help combat Alzhei-

mer’s disease and other aging-related dementias.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, found

that activating group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) improved the memory

of aged mice.

[…”While we have yet to investigate these immune cells in human pa-

tients with neurodegenerative diseases, it’s our hope that this research will

directly inform novel strategies to combat Alzheimer’s disease and other

aging-related dementias,” said Ivan Ting Hin Fung, Ph.D., the study’s lead

author.] For the complete article see: https://www.amc.edu/PR/

albany_med_today/upload/AMT_05_2020_May_web.pdf

Drs. Ivan Fung, Qi Yang, and Kristen Zuloaga

Kate C. MacNamara, Ph.D., has received a $528,935, two-year Department of Defense award (under the Congression-

ally Directed Medical Research Program for Bone Marrow Failure Research) for her research entitled, “Targeting Reso-

lution Pathways to Rescue Bone Marrow Failure.”

Congratulations Dr. MacNamara!

Dr. MacNamara Receives DoD Award

Jonathan A Harton, Ph.D., has been awarded a two-year, $81,313 R03 grant from the National Institute of Allergy

and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health (NIAID/NIH) for his research entitled “Tools to Evaluate POP2 as a

Regulator of Arthritis.”

Congratulations Dr. Harton!

Dr. Harton Receives NIH Award

IMD Students Excel at Graduate Studies Program 2020 Events

Alumni Research Award (1st and 2

nd Year Students)

Poornima Sankar

Two IMD students were chosen to give oral presentations on Awards Day

Shanti D’Souza’s presentation was entitled, “Single-cell RNA-Sequencing Identifies EOMES as the Subset-Determining

Transcriptional Factor of Mucosal Associated Inveriant T cells.” (Mentor: Dr. Qi Yang)

Jesse Rabinowitz’s poster entitled, “xCT-Mediated HIV-1 Inhibition in Human Macrophages.”

(Mentor: Dr. Carlos deNoronha)

Shanti D’Souza and Ivan Ting Hin Fung were chosen to receive American Association of Immunologists (AAI)

Trainee Abstract Awards for first-author abstracts submitted for presentations in Block Symposia for the AAI Annual

Meeting. Additionally, Tarani Kanta Barman, Safiehkhatoon Moshkani, and Mohd Saqib were recipients of AAI

Trainee Poster Awards based on first-author abstracts submitted for poster presentations and found to be exceptional

by the AAI Abstract Programming Chairs. (Subsequently, this meeting was canceled due to travel restrictions.)

IMD Trainees Named for AAI Awards

IMD NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

Peer-reviewed Publications

Singh AK, Curtiss R 3rd, and Sun W. A recombinant attenuated Yersinia pseudotuberculosis vaccine delivering a Y. pestis

YopENt138-LcrV fusion elicits broad protection against Plague and Yersiniosis in mice. Infect Immun. 19;87(10), 2019.

Rymut N, Heinz j, Sadhu S, Hosseini Z, Riley CO, Marinello M, Maloney J, MacNamara KC, Spite M, and Fredman G. Resolvin D1

efferocytosis in aging by limiting senescent cell-induced MerTK cleavage. FASEB J. 34(1):597-609. doi:10.1096/fj.201902126R, 2019.

Walrath T, Malizia RA, Sharp SP, D’Souza SS, Lopez-Solar R, Parr B, Kartchner B, Lee EC, Stain SC, Iwakura Y, and O’Connor W,

Jr. IFN-y and IL-17A regulate intestinal crypt production of CXCL10 in the healthy and inflamed colon. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver

Physiol. 318(3):G479-489, 2020.

Singh AK, Wang X, and Sun W. Oral vaccination with live attenuated Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains delivering a FliC180

-LcrV fusion agent confers protection against pulmonary Y. pestis infection. Vaccine. 38(21):3720-3728, 2020.

Wang X, Singh AK, Zhang X, and Sun W. Induction of protective antiplague immune responses by self -adjuvanting bionanopar-

ticles derived from engineered Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 88(5), 2020.

Sharma AE, Hamedani FS, Barroeta JE, Pyel P, Bennett JA, and Lastra RR. Clear cell papillary cystadenoma of the ovary masquerad-

ing as metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: A case report and review of the literature. Int J Gynecol Pathol. Doi:10:1097, PMID:

31985579, 2020.

Yang YSH, Li AL, Shih YJ, Bennett JA, Whang-Peng J, Lin HY, Davis PJ, and Wang K. Herbal medicines attenuate PD-L1 expression

to induce anti-proliferation in obesity-related cancers. Nutrients. 11(12). doi: 10.1097, 2019.

Ho Y, Wang SH, Chen YR, Li ZL, Chin YT, Yang YSH, Wu YH, Su KW, Chu HR, Chiu HC, Crawford DR, Shih YJ, Grasso P, Tang HY,

Lin HY, Davis PJ, Whang-Peng J, and Wang K. Leptin-derived peptides block leptin-induced proliferation by reducing expression of

pro-inflammatory genes in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 133:110808, 2019.

Wang X, Singh AK, and Sun W. Protection and safety evaluation of live constructions derived from the Pgm and pPCP1 Yersinia

pestis strain. Vaccines. 8(1), 2020.

Zhang X, Zhang T, Davis JN, Marzi A, Marchese AM, Robek MD, van den Pol AN. Mucin-Like domain of Ebola Virus glycoprotein

enhances selective oncolytic actions against brain tumors. J Virol. 94(8). pii: e01967-19, 2020.

Hin Fung IT, Sankar P, Zhang Y, Robison LS, Zhao X, D'Souza SS, Salinero AE, Wang Y, Qian J, Kuentzel ML, Chittur SV,

Temple S, Zuloaga KL, Yang Q. Activation of group 2 innate lymphoid cells alleviates aging-associated cognitive decline. J Exp

Med. 217 (4): e20190915, 2020.

Ye L, Pan J, Pasha MA, Shen X, D'Souza SS, Hin Fung IT, Wang Y, Guo B, Tang DD, Yang Q. Mucosal associated invariant T

cells restrict allergic airway inflammation. J Allergy Clin Immunol. pii: S0091-6749(19)32595-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2019.12.891, 2019.

Ho Y, Wu CY, Chin YT, Li ZL, Pan YS, Huang TY, Su PY, Lee SY, Crawford DR, Su KW, Chiu HC, Shih YJ, Changou CA, Yang YSH,

Whang-Peng J, Chen YR, Lin HY, Mousa SA, Davis PJ, Wang K. NDAT suppresses pro-inflammatory gene expression to enhance

resveratrol-induced anti-proliferation in oral cancer cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 136 2020, 111092.

Wooten AK, Shenoy AT, Arafa EI, Akiyama H, Martin IMC, Jones MR, Quinton LJ, Gummuluru S, Bai G, Mizgerd JP. Unique roles

for Streptococcus pneumoniae Phosphodiesterase 2 in cyclic di-AMP catabolism and macrophage responses. Front Immunol 2020

Mar 31;11:554. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00554

Kumar S, Sunagar R, and Gosselin EJ. Preclinical efficacy of a trivalent human FcγRI-targeted adjuvant-free subunit mucosal

vaccine against pulmonary pneumococcal infection. Vaccines. 8(2):E193. doi:10.3390/vaccines8020193, 2020.

Saxena AR, Ilic Z, Sripada V, and Crawford DR. Lower concentrations of curcumin inhibit Her2-Akt pathway components in

human breast cancer cells, and other dietary botanicals potentiate this and lapatinib inhibition. Nutr Res., in press.

Hodde JP, Hiles MC, and Metzger DW. Characterization of the local wound environment following treatment of chronic leg ulcers with

SIS wound matrix. J. Tissue Viability. 29(1):42-47. doi: 10.1016/j.jtv.2019.12.003, 2020.

Gregory DJ, DeLoid GM, Salmon SL, Metzger DW, Kramnik I and and Kobzik L. SON DNA binding protein mediates macrophage

autophagy and responses to intracellular infection. FEBS Lett., in press.

PAGE 4 IMD NEWSLETTER

Department of Immunology & Microbial Disease

47 New Scotland Ave., MC-151

Albany, NY 12208-3479

P: (518) 262-6750 F: (518) 262-6161

ww.amc.edu/research/IMD

ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE

Conferences, Meetings, and Study Sections

Katherine C. MacNamara, Ph.D., was invited to give a presentation entitled, “The Role of Interferon, Inflammation, and Infection in

Aplastic Anemia,” at the 2019 American Society of Hematology in Orlando, FL, December 6-10, 2019.

Kristen Tummillo, graduate student, gave a poster presentation entitled, “Surface Expression of Complement Receptor Ligands

by Gram-negative Immunogens: A rapidly applicable, plug-and-play approach to enhancing antibody responses,” at the 2020 ASM Bio-

threats meeting in Arlington, VA, January 28-30, 2020.

Michael D. Robek, Ph.D., served on the NIH Virology B Study Section in San Francisco, CA, February 19-21, 2020.

Qi Yang, Ph.D., served on the NIH Hypersensitivity, Allergies, and Mucosal Immunology (HAMI) Study Section in Washington,

DC, February 27-28, 2020.

Michael D. Robek, Ph.D., served on the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Grant Review via virtual meeting, March 10-

11, 2020.

Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D., served on the DP2 NIAID New Innovator Award ZAI1-JHM-D-M1 Special Emphasis Study Section video

conference, March 12-13, 2020.

Bibhuti B. Mishra, Ph.D., was appointed to serve as an editor for the research topic, “Repurposed Drugs as Immune-Modulators

to Combat Infectious Diseases” in Frontiers in Immunology from April until December 2020.

Shankar PS, Girgis AS, Mishra BB, Elagawany M, Devarapalli V, Littlefield WF, Samir A, et al. Synthesis, computational studies, anti-

mycobacterial and antibacterial properties of pyrazinoic acid-isoniazid hybrid conjugates. RSC Adv. 9. 35: 20450-20462, 2019.

Winchell CG, Mishra BB, Phuah JY, Saqib M, Nelson SJ, Maiello P, Causgrove CM, et al. Evaluation of IL-1 blockade as an adjunct to

linezolid therapy for tuberculosis in mice and macaques; Front. Immunol. doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00891, 2020.

Lovewell RR, Baer C, Mishra BB, Smith CM, and Sassetti CM. Granulocytes act as a niche for Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth;

Mucosal Immunol. 2020, in press.

Hosokawa H, Romero-Wolf M, Yang Q, Motomura Y, Levanon D, Groner Y, Moro K, Tanaka T, and Rothenberg EV. Cell type-specific

actions of Bcl11b in early T-lineage and group 2 innate lymphoid cells. J Exp Med. 217(1). pii: e20190972. doi: 10.1084/jem.20190972,

2020.

(Continued from page 3)

Jesse Rabinowitz, graduate student, was chosen to receive a Travel Award based on his abstract submission

for the 39th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology (ASV 2020). Even though the meeting was canceled,

the ASV President and Travel Award Committee are pleased to be able to send their congratulations.

Due to visitor and travel restrictions, IMD has postponed their Seminar Series until further notice.

IMD Student Receives Travel Award