L.
A. Laimins, PhD
Professor
Dept. of Microbiology-Immunology
To Contact Dr. Laimins:
phone: 312-503-0648
e-mail: l-laimins@northwestern.edu
Dr. Laimins' website
PubMed
Reference Lookup
Research Interests
The current focus of Dr. Laimins’ laboratory, is the genetic analysis
of the human papillomavirus life cycle. In order to investigate the mechanisms
which regulate the productive life cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPV) systems,
the y have developed methods for a genetic analysis of viral functions in
tissue culture systems. Papillomaviruses are small DNA viruses that induce
a variety of proliferative lesions in most mammals including humans. Of the
100 types of human papillomaviruses that have been identified, a subset are
associated at a high frequency with anogenital cancers and these are referred
to as the high risk types Viral infection occurs into stratified epithelial
cells and results in an altered pattern of differentiation from that seen
in normal cells. The production of viral particles, genome amplification,
capsid protein synthesis, and virion assembly is dependent upon differentiation
and is restricted to suprabasal cells.. Dr. Laimins’ lab has developed
methods to synthesize HPV 31 virions from cloned transfected DNA templates
following differentiation in organotypic cultures as well as suspension in
semi-solid media. These methods allowed them to begin a genetic analysis of
HPV functions during the productive life cycle with a major focus on the activities
of E1 and E2. They have identified the roles for cis sequences in modulating
plasmid maintenance and characterized the mechanisms by which a switch occurs
from maintenance to amplification replication. Additional studies have identified
an E2 repressor, and examined the low-risk HPV life cycle. Recent studies
from the laboratory of Dr. Laimins, identified important roles for E6 in plasmid
maintenance and E5 for differentiation-dependent activation of late viral
functions. These are novel functions for proteins whose role in the viral
life cycle was previously unknown.