Erle S. Robertson Ph.D.
Professor, Dept of Microbiology
Director, Tumor Virology, Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cancer Biology Program

Address

201E Johnson Pavilion
3610 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6076

Office tel.: 215 746-0114
Fax: 215 898-9557
E-mail: erle@mail.med.upenn.edu

Link(s)

Dr. Robertson's Microbiology Faculty Page

Dr. Robertson's Lab Page

Education

BSc (Microbiology), 1987.

PhD (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), 1992.

Postdoctoral Research (Molecular Virology), 1994.

Research Interests

• Mechanisms of Oncogenesis by Gammaherpesvirus.

Key words: oncogenesis, viruses and cancer, viral oncology, Tumor Virology, Gene therapy, Kaposi's Sarcoma, Epstein-Barr Virus, Lymphoproliferative disease, Lymphomas.

Search PubMed for articles

Description of Research

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) are associated with a number of human malignancies. These include Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, breast carcinoma, Kaposi's sarcoma and body cavity based lymphoma. We are investigating the fundamental mechanisms utilized by these gammaherpesviruses to induce cell mediated growth transformation. We are using genetics, genomics and biochemical approaches to establish unknown pathways involved in these cellular events and attempting to develop models that explain how gammaherpesviruses establish transformation in human cells.

EBV infects human B-lymphocytes and is the etiological agent of infectious mononucleosis. In vitro EBV efficiently growth transforms primary B-lymphocytes. Studies have demonstrated that only a subset of the viral latent genes is essential for EBV mediated transformation. One such gene is the EBV nuclear antigen EBNA3C. EBNA3C is a large nuclear transcription factor involved in modulating transcription activated by a cellular repressor RBP-Jkappa and other transcription factors. We are interested in other related functions of EBNA3C through its interactions with a number of other cellular molecules. Screens to identify other cellular targets have identified a number of interesting targets associated with EBNA3C. These molecules are involved in cell division, metastasis, apoptosis, cell cycle regulation and regulation of protein degradation. We are currently pursuing a number of these molecules in an effort to demonstrate their biochemical, structural and functional relevance in human cancers.

KSHV is the second human oncogenic herpesvirus, associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and pleural effusion lymphomas (PELs) or body cavity based lymphomas (BCBLs). KSHV also belongs to the human gammaherpesvirus family with collinear homology to EBV. KSHV infects human B-cells and endothelial cells. The mechanism of KSHV mediated oncogenesis is not understood. Our laboratory is involved in the elucidation of the mechanisms by which KSHV persists and establishes persistent infection in the associated human cancers.

Recent Publications

Verma SC, Robertson ES. Molecular biology and pathogenesis of Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2003 May 28;222(2):155-63. Review.

Knight JS, Lan K, Subramanian C, Robertson ES. Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3C recruits histone deacetylase activity and associates with the corepressors mSin3A and NCoR in human B-cell lines. J Virol. 2003 Apr;77(7):4261-72.

Subramanian C, Robertson ES. The metastatic suppressor Nm23-H1 interacts with EBNA3C at sequences located between the glutamine- and proline-rich domains and can cooperate in activation of transcription. J Virol. 2002 Sep;76(17):8702-9.

Subramanian C, Hasan S, Rowe M, Hottiger M, Orre R, Robertson ES. Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 3C and prothymosin alpha interact with the p300 transcriptional coactivator at the CH1 and CH3/HAT domains and cooperate in regulation of transcription and histone acetylation. J Virol. 2002 May;76(10):4699-708.

Cotter MA 2nd, Subramanian C, Robertson ES. The Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus latency-associated nuclear antigen binds to specific sequences at the left end of the viral genome through its carboxy-terminus. Virology. 2001 Dec 20;291(2):241-59.

Lab

Rotation Projects

Positions available. Please contact Dr. Robertson via mail.

Lab personnel:

Jason Knight, MSTP Candidate
Subhash Verma, Postdoctoral Fellow
Ke Lan, Postdoctoral Fellow
Masano Murukami, Postdoctoral Fellow
Sumit Borah, Research Specialist
Daniel Kuppers, Research Specialist