DrNoreen Sheehy

My research area is Molecular Virology and specifically relates to the investigation of the pathogenesis of the human retroviruses human T cell leukemia viruses types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, respectively) and respiratory viruses. HTLV-1 causes adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and chronic inflammatory disorders while HTLV-2 infection is not linked with specific virus related diseases. One key question that still remains unanswered despite intensive research in this area is why HTLV-1 gives rise to disease while its closely related counter part HTLV-2 is not clearly associated with cancer development. The identification and characterisation of key virus/host interactions that contribute to ATLL in individuals infected with HTLV-1 but not HTLV-2 has been the focus of much my HTLV research to date. The overall goal of such work is not only to provide mechanistic insights into the different clinical outcomes of HTLV infections but also to identify and characterise key cellular players in the development of adult T cell leukemia, which is of great interest to those hoping to develop novel cancer therapeutics. Specific research interests 1) Regulation of cellular signalling pathways by HTLV Tax, HBZ and APH-2 regulatory proteins 2) Investigation of the pathogenesis of leukemia/lymphoma development in Tax transgenic ATLL mouse animal model 3) Characterization of novel HTLV /cellular protein/protein interactions Using a combination of mutational studies and viral /cellular promoter assays we have extensively characterized the role of HTLV Tax-1/HBZ oncogenic proteins in the deregulation of cellular signalling pathways. The findings from these studies may in the future help in the development of innovative therapies that specifically target such signalling pathways.

The aim of my research on respiratory viruses is two fold 1) To investigate the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced by cells infected with influenza viruses in the pathogenesis of these infections 2) To investigate the binding/attachment of seasonal and pandemic coronaviruses into airway epithelial cells using a combination of virological and spectroscopic assays. This research project ViroSPEC is funded by Research Ireland