Nihal Altan-Bonnet, PhD

Senior Investigator

Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Dynamics

altan-bonnetViruses utilize ingenious ways by which to transmit themselves efficiently and evade immune surveillance. The overarching interest of my group is to identify the ways viruses do this and what the consequences are on viral pathogenesis. In pursuit of this, we have:

  1. Discovered an entirely new mode of viral transmission whereby viruses package themselves in clusters inside extracellular vesicles (Chen et al., Cell 2015; Santiana et al., Cell Host and Microbe 2018; Kerviel et al., Annual Review in Cell and Developmental Biology 2021). Using this mode of transmission viruses enhance their multiplicity of infection, suppress innate and adaptive immune components.
  2. Discovered the cellular pathway called lysosomal exocytosis by which Coronaviruses like SARS-CoV2 use to get out of cells and spread to other hosts (Ghosh et al., Cell 2020). By using this cellular pathway coronaviruses can disrupt antigen presentation, and this can potentially lead to the immune dysregulation observed in COVID-19 patients.

As summarized above, both forms of viral transmission have major consequences on how the innate and adaptive immune system recognizes and reacts to pathogens. We have multiple projects in the lab using in vitro and in vivo models by which to investigate the effects of these types of viral transmission on the immune system.

Suggested Penn mentors: Sara Cherry, Kellie Jurado, Susan Weiss, Ike Eisenlohr