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 Sara
Cherry, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office Address:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
304K Lynch Building
433 South University Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Lab Address: 311 Lynch Building
TEL 215-746-2384
LAB 215-746-2388
FAX 215-746-6697
cherrys@mail.med.upenn.edu
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Research in the Cherry lab is aimed at identifying cellular factors that
regulate viral pathogenesis, including both those factors hijacked by viruses
for replication and those innate anti-viral mechanisms used by the host to
combat the invader. To identify these factors we are taking a genetic approach
by screening for factors that impact viral replication. To this end, we are
using the model genetic organism Drosophila. This allows us to use a wide-variety
of techniques to identify these genes including both high-throughput RNA
interference screens in cell culture, and forward genetic screens in animals.
Moreover, we are also screening for host factors in human cells using high-throughput
RNA interference screening technologies. We are using these approaches to
study a number of arthropod-borne RNA viruses, these are viruses that are
transmitted from an insect to humans. For example, we are studying West Nile
virus and Rift Valley Fever virus, two important human pathogens transmitted
by mosquitoes to humans. By screening in both hosts- insect and human- we
hope to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the host factor requirements
of these pathogens. We are currently characterizing the roles of candidate
genes already uncovered by using molecular biological and cell biological
techniques and have discovered factors involved in viral replication and
innate immunity. By combining these methodologies, and using a variety of
viruses, we hope to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between
the host and pathogen in a complex and dynamic setting. Taking advantage
of forward genetics and functional genomics in will allow us to use these
unbiased and global methodologies to identify many important and novel host
factors that modulate virus-host interactions. Moreover, the more viral-host
pairs that we study, the better our understanding of pathways and processes
essential to pathogens, and the more equipped we will be to develop anti-viral
treatments.
Selected Recent Publications
DiAngelo J, Bland, M. Bambina, S. Cherry S*, and Birnbaum
M.* (2009). The immune response attenuates growth and nutrient storage in
Drosophila by reducing insulin signaling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. Oct
27.
Cherry S. (2009). VSV infection is sensed by Drosophila,
attenuates nutrient signaling, and thereby activates antiviral autophagy.
Autophagy. Oct; 5(7). Review.
Cherry S. (2009). Revealing host factors regulating the
virus life cycle using RNAi screening.Current Opinion in Microbiology.
Aug; 12(4). Review.
Sabin, L.R., Zhou, R., Gruber, J.J., Lukinova N, Bambina, S., Berman A,
Thompson, C.B. and Cherry S. (2009). Ars2 regulates both
miRNA- and siRNA-dependent silencing and suppresses RNA virus infection in Drosophila. Cell.
July: 138(2)340-351.
Gruber, J.J., Zatechka, D.S.*, Sabin, L.R.*, Yong, J., Lum, J.J., Kong,
M., Zong, W-X., Zhang, Z., Lau, C-K., Rawlings, J., Cherry S,
Ihle, J.N., Dreyfuss, G., and Thompson, C.B. (2009). Ars2 links the nuclear
cap binding complex to RNA interference and cell proliferation. Cell.
July: 138(2)328-339.
Shelly S, Lukinova N, Bambina, S., Berman A, and Cherry S.
(2009). Autophagy is an Essential Component of Drosophila Immunity
against Vesicular Stomatitis Virus. Immunity. Apr; 30(4): 588-598.
Cherry S. (2008). Genomic RNAi Screening in Drosophila S2
cells: What have we learned about host-pathogen interactions. Current Opinion
in Microbiology. Jun;11(3):262-70. Review.
Cherry S, Kunte, A., Wang, H., Coyne, C., Rawson, R., and
Perrimon N. (2006). COPI activity coupled with fatty acid metabolism is required
for viral replication. PLoS Pathogens.2(10) e102.
Cherry S, and Silverman, N. (2006). Host Pathogen Interactions
in Drosophila: New tricks from an old friend. Nature Immunology. Sept;7(9)911-7.
Review.
Cherry S, Doukas T., Armkneckt S., Wang H., Sarnow P. and
Perrimon N. (2005). Genome-wide RNAi screen reveals a specific sensitivity
of IRES-containing RNA viruses to host translation inhibition. Genes & Development,
19:445-452.
Cherry S, and Perrimon N. (2004). Entry is a rate-limiting
step for viral infection in a Drosophila model for pathogenesis.
Nature Immunology, 5:81-87.
Lab
Rotation Projects
Depending on the interests of the student, there are many possible projects in
the areas of viral-host interactions and innate immunity.
Students are encouraged to contact Dr. Cherry directly.
Lab personnel:
Spencer Shelly- V.M.D., Ph. D. Student
Terri Moser- Ph. D. Student
Leah Sabin- Ph. D. Student
Kaycie Hopkins - Rotation Student
Patrick Rose- Postdoctoral Fellow
Sheri Hanna- Postdoctoral Fellow
Laura McLane-Postdoctoral Fellow
Shelly Bambina- Research Technician
Maggie Nakamoto- Research Technician
Anna Spiridigliozzi - Undergraduate Researcher
Tracy Nguyen- Undergraduate Researcher
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
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