Research Paper

Genome Biology: The RNA-binding protein SERBP1 functions as a novel oncogenic factor in glioblastoma by bridging cancer metabolism and epigenetic regulation (Bishop & Penalva Labs)

August 6, 2020

Adam Kosti 1 2, Patricia Rosa de Araujo 1 2, Wei-Qing Li 1 3, Gabriela D A Guardia 4, Jennifer Chiou 5, Caihong Yi 1, Debashish Ray 6, Fabiana Meliso 4, Yi-Ming Li 3, Talia Delambre 1, Mei Qiao 1, Suzanne S Burns 1, Franziska K Lorbeer 1, Fanny Georgi 1, Markus Flosbach 1, Sarah Klinnert 1, Anne Jenseit 1, Xiufen Lei 1, Carolina Romero Sandoval 1, Kevin Ha 6, Hong Zheng 6, Renu Pandey 1, Aleksandra Gruslova 7, Yogesh K Gupta 1, Andrew Brenner 8, Erzsebet Kokovay 2, Timothy R Hughes 6 9 10, Quaid D Morris 6 9 11, Pedro A F Galante 12, Stefano Tiziani 13, Luiz O F Penalva 14 15 Abstract Background: RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) function as master regulators […]


PNAS: Necroptosis-based CRISPR knockout screen reveals Neuropilin-1 as a critical host factor for early stages of murine cytomegalovirus infection

August 3, 2020

Rebecca K Lane 1, Hongyan Guo 2, Amanda D Fisher 1, Jonathan Diep 3, Zhao Lai 4 5, Yidong Chen 5 6, Jason W Upton 7, Jan Carette 3, Edward S Mocarski 8, William J Kaiser 9 Abstract Herpesviruses are ubiquitous human pathogens that cause a wide range of health complications. Currently, there is an incomplete understanding of cellular factors that contribute to herpesvirus infection. Here, we report an antiviral necroptosis-based genetic screen to identify novel […]


UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL – Researchers identify enzyme that helps COVID-19 evade immune system (Gupta Lab)

July 30, 2020

Researchers announced Friday that they have discovered an enzyme that helps COVID-19 enter cells in the human body, allowing the infection to grow. Called non-structural protein 16, or nsp16, the enzyme is produced by the new coronavirus and acts as a “camouflage,” tricking human cells into thinking that the virus is “part of its own code and […]


NEWS 4 WOAI: Decoding Coronavirus Structure Could Lead to New Antiviral Drugs (Gupta lab)

July 28, 2020

SOURCE: WOAI Broadcast Date: July 27, 2020 A new discovery by researchers right here in San Antonio is giving doctors a better idea about how the coronavirus works. “I’m still not 100 percent,” said Rudy Palacios, a man who battled COVID-19 in a hospital for 16 days. “I actually was released from the hospital on […]


Laboratory Equipment: Coronavirus Makes Changes That Cause Cells Not to Recognize it

July 28, 2020

With an alarm code, we can enter a building without bells going off. It turns out that the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the same advantage entering cells. It possesses the code to waltz right in. On July 24 in Nature Communications, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San […]


ABC Spain: They discoverd how the coronavirus camouflages itself to infect cells

July 27, 2020

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is capable of camouflaging itself to trick cells into entering them without causing any alarm. This is the conclusion of a study carried out by researchers at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), published in “Nature Communications.”


Ahmedabad Mirror: Scientists decode how coronavirus molecules ‘camouflage’ in host cell; may lead to drug development

July 26, 2020

Scientists, including those of Indian-origin, have resolved the structure of a molecule which the novel coronavirus uses to make its genetic sequence seem like a part of the host’s own, an advance that may lead to the development of new antiviral drugs against Covid-19. According to the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the […]



Technology Networks: SARS-CoV-2 Makes Changes That Cause Cells Not to Recognize It, New Findings Suggest

July 25, 2020

With an alarm code, we can enter a building without bells going off. It turns out that the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has the same advantage entering cells. It possesses the code to waltz right in. On July 24 in Nature Communications, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health […]


Nature Communications: Structural basis of RNA cap modification by SARS-CoV-2

July 24, 2020

Thiruselvam Viswanathan, Shailee Arya, Siu-Hong Chan, Shan Qi, Nan Dai, Anurag Misra, Jun-Gyu Park, Fatai Oladunni, Dmytro Kovalskyy, Robert A. Hromas, Luis Martinez-Sobrido & Yogesh K. Gupta Nature Communications volume 11, Article number: 3718 (2020) Abstract The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 illness, has caused millions of infections worldwide. In […]