John Guatelli, M.D.
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John Guatelli, M.D. Professor of Medicine 9500 Gilman Drive # 0679 Telephone: (858) 552-8585 ext 7439 |
Background
John Guatelli recieved his B.A. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developemental Biology from the University of Colorado in 1978, and his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego, in 1984. After training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease, he has been a faculty member of the UCSD School of Medicine, where he is currently a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Guatelli is affiliated with the Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Pathology graduate programs of UCSD.
Research Interests
We are interested in several genes of HIV-1: nef, vpu, and env; and how these genes and sequences within them affect the infectivity of viral particles (virions). Nef is a non-enzymatic viral protein that mediates interactions with cellular proteins that coat the cytoplasmic face of membranes involved in vesicular transport. Via these interactions, Nef increases the intrinsic infectivity of virions, and it contibutes to viral evasion of the immune system by altering the trafficking of class I and class II MHC. Vpu is a transmembrane protein that regulates the release of virions from cells; it may also affect the intracellular trafficking of the envelope glycoprotein (Env). Env is a transmembrane protein that binds cellular receptors to mediate entry of HIV-1 virions into target cells; it contains sequences in its cytoplasmic domain that, like Nef, interact with vesicle coat proteins. These interests are united by the theme of viral interactions with cellular, endosomal membranes and their associated proteins.