RNA control of HIV latency
- Research Opportunity
- PhD, Masters by Research, Master of Biomedical Science
- Number of Honour Places Available
- 1
- Number of Master Places Available
- 1
- Department
- Microbiology and Immunology
| Primary Supervisor | Number | Webpage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Damian Purcell | dfjp@unimelb.edu.au | 8344 6753 | Personal web page |
Summary This project studies these chimeric host-HIV mRNAs and investigates a folded RNA-element that underlies Tat coding RNA, its RNA-epigenetic modifications and the cellular protein binding partners that function to permit Tat-expression through a privileged IRES-translation pathway to regulate HIV-latency.
Project Details
Long-lived CD4+ T cells harbouring integrated copies of HIV proviral DNA stand as the barrier to sustained HIV remission without ongoing antiretroviral drug therapy. Multiple mechanisms restrict the viral gene expression needed for immune-detection and clearance. However, RNA transcription from the adjacent highly-active cellular gene reads-through into provirus, whereupon mRNA splicing and other mechanisms recombine HIV Tat RNA into mature cellular RNAs. This project studies these chimeric host-HIV mRNAs and investigates a folded RNA-element that underlies Tat coding RNA, its RNA-epigenetic modifications and the cellular protein binding partners that function to permit Tat-expression through a privileged IRES-translation pathway to regulate HIV-latency.
Faculty Research Themes
School Research Themes
Research Opportunities
PhD, Masters by Research, Master of Biomedical Science
Students who are interested in joining this project will need to consider their elegibility as well as other requirements before contacting the supervisor of this research
Key Contact
For further information about this research, please contact a supervisor.
Department
Research Group / Unit / Centre
Purcell laboratory: Viral RNA elements, regulation of HIV replication, HIV antibody vaccine
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