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Associate Professor Matloob Husain

Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 470 3420
Email
matloob.husain@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Associate Professor
Department
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Qualifications
MSc, PhD
Research summary
Molecular virology, viral pathogenesis and epidemiology

Research

Matloob Husain is an Associate Professor in Virology.

Influenza virus remains one of the most circulated viruses and flu remains one of the most common infectious diseases in humans, globally. This burden of influenza virus on global public health may even get worse with the co-circulation and co-infection of pandemic SARS-CoV-2. The identification of factors which govern influenza virus multiplication and determine flu severity in humans is critical to develop effective and tailored antiviral strategies. We have discovered that acetylation, an epigenetic protein modification, plays a critical role in influenza virus infection and may determine the severity of flu in humans. Current research is focused on elucidating the role of acetylation machinery in influenza virus infection. We use human lung epithelial cells as the infection model of type A influenza virus. We manipulate the expression of genes which control acetylation by tools like RNA Interference and CRISPR/Cas9 and then analyse the effect on influenza virus replication and pathogenesis and host innate immune response by RNA Sequencing, mass spectrometry, plaque assay, qRT-PCR, and western blotting.

Publications

Nagesh, P. T., & Husain, M. (2016). Influenza A virus dysregulates host histone deacetylase 1 that inhibits viral infection in lung epithelial cells. Journal of Virology, 90(9), 4614-4625. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00126-16 Journal - Research Article

Husain, M., & Cheung, C.-Y. (2014). Histone deacetylase 6 inhibits influenza A virus release by downregulating the trafficking of viral components to the plasma membrane via its substrate, acetylated microtubules. Journal of Virology, 88(19), 11229-11239. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00727-14 Journal - Research Article

Chen, D.-Y., & Husain, M. (2016). Caspase-mediated degradation of host cortactin that promotes influenza A virus infection in epithelial cells. Virology, 497, 146-156. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2016.07.017 Journal - Research Article

Husain, M. (2014). Avian influenza A (H7N9) virus infection in humans: Epidemiology, evolution, and pathogenesis. Infection, Genetics & Evolution, 28, 304-312. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2014.10.016 Journal - Research Article

Husain, M., & Harrod, K. S. (2011). Enhanced acetylation of alpha-tubulin in influenza A virus infected epithelial cells. FEBS Letters, 585(1), 128-132. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.11.023 Journal - Research Article

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