Chelsey Spriggs
University of Michigan, MI·Microbiology & Immunology
Viruses cannot reproduce on their own. They must get inside host cells and take over cellular machinery.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biology
Biochemistry
- Topics
virology
viral entry
nuclear entry
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2030
What they work on
- Determine how Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), a cancer-causing DNA virus, targets and crosses the nuclear envelope, using molecular biology, biochemistry and high-resolution microscopy.
- Determine how LuIII parvovirus, a virus with cancer-killing potential, reaches and enters the nucleus through apparently non-canonical transport routes.
- Identify the host cell factors required for MCPyV and LuIII nuclear entry to reveal new mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic transport.
More about the research
Most viruses with DNA genomes copy themselves in the nucleus, so they must cross the nuclear envelope, the double membrane around the cell's genetic material. How they get through this barrier is a major open question. The answer matters both for viruses that cause cancer and for viruses that can be used to kill cancer cells.
Why it matters
Knowing how Merkel cell polyomavirus reaches the nucleus could help with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of virus-associated cancer. Understanding LuIII entry could inform its use as a cancer-killing virus. Because nuclear transport goes wrong in other human disorders, the host pathways uncovered may also be relevant beyond viral infection.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Yuan Chang
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Microbiology & Immunology
Visualize single molecules of Merkel cell polyomavirus Large T protein binding, assembling and starting to unwind viral DNA, using the LUMICKS C-Trap optical tweezers instrument.
Katharine Ullman
University of Utah, UT·Biology
Determine how LEM2, an inner nuclear membrane protein, helps organize the newly forming nuclear envelope after cell division, using timelapse microscopy and proximity labeling to identify nearby proteins.
Katarzyna Zwolinska
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, LA·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether the direction of microtubule-based transport of the HPV genome switches during cell division, and whether the motor proteins dynein and Kif11 drive it, using inhibitor and live-cell tracking experiments in infected keratinocytes.
The school
University of Michigan: 124 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 963 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.