Structural mechanism of herpesvirus entry into cells

Jessica Silverman
Predoctoral Student
B.S. Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Thesis Topic
Structure and regulatory mechanism of proteins required for viral fusion.

Current Research
Our lab is interested in understanding the mechanism of herpesvirus entry into host cells.  My project involves determining the structure and function of proteins involved in regulating fusion of the viral envelope with the host cell membrane.  Glycoprotein B (gB) is one of four viral proteins essential for virus-cell fusion to occur, and I am interested in determining the structure of its regulatory cytoplasmic domain.  I am also conducting biophysical and biochemical analyses of the cytoplasmic domain in the context of membrane mimetics to understand the mechanism by which it directs the fusion process.

Publications
Silverman, J. L., S. Sharma, T. Cairns, and E. E. Heldwein, “Fusion-null insertion mutants of HSV-1 gB adopt the trimeric post-fusion conformation.” Submitted.