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Genetic science research
George Mason University

Faculty & Staff Directory

Yuntao Wu

  • Professor

    Contact Info

    Wu
    Name
    Dr. Yuntao Wu
    Job Title
    Professor
    Website
    Dr. Yuntao Wu's Research Lab
    Phone Number
    703-993-4299
    Office Number
    Discovery Hall, Room 306

    Affiliations

    Departments

    Centers

    • Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR)

    Research Areas

    • Applied Science
    • Biology
    • Biomedical Research

    Education

    PhD, Molecular Virology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (1998)

    Download CV

    About

    Dr. Yuntao Wu is a professor at NCBID, George Mason University, Manassas, Virginia, USA. He has been studying viruses for over 30 years, and for the past 20 years, he has been primarily focused on studying HIV infection of blood CD4 T cells and macrophages. Dr. Wu received his Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He received his postdoctoral training at NIH, studying HIV-1 pre-integration transcription in blood resting CD4 T cells (Science, 2001, 293:1503). Currently, his lab studies chemokine co-receptor signaling and role of cofilin in HIV infection and pathogenesis (Cell, 2008, 134:782; Science Advances, 2019, 5:eaat7911). Recently, his lab also studies the mechanisms of PSGL-1 restriction of HIV infectivity (Nature Microbiology, 2019, 4:8132)

    Current Research

    Dr. Wu's lab studies chemokine co-receptor signaling and role of cofilin in HIV infection and pathogenesis (Cell, 2008, 134:782; Science Advances, 2019, 5:eaat7911). Recently, his lab also studies the mechanisms of PSGL-1 restriction of HIV infectivity (Nature Microbiology, 2019, 4:8132). His lab also developed HIV Rev-dependent vectors for targeting HIV reservoirs (Gene Therapy, 2010, DOI:10.1038/gt.2010.53), and is currently testing the vectors in animals for a functional cure of HIV infection.

    Teaching Focus

    I teach Bio301 (AIDS and Society), Bio 553 (Advances in Immunology), and Bio 563 (Virology)

    Selected Publications

    1. Yoder, A., D. Yu, L. Dong, S. R. Iyer, X. Xu, J. Kelly, J. Liu, W. Wang, P. J. Vorster, L. Agulto, D. A. Stephany, J. N. Cooper, J. W. Marsh and Y. Wu. 2008. HIV-1 envelope-CXCR4 interaction activates cofilin to overcome cortical actin restriction in resting CD4 T cells. Cell 134:782-792.
    2. He, S., Y. Fu, J. Guo, M. Spear, J. Yang, B. Trinité, C. Qin, S. Fu, Y. Jiang, Z. Zhang, J. Xu, H. Ding, D. N. Levy, W. Chen, E. Petricoin III, L. A. Liotta, H. Shang, Y. Wu. 2019, Cofilin hyperactivation in HIV infection and targeting the cofilin pathway using an anti-α4β7 integrin antibody. Science Advances 5(1), eaat7911. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat7 911
    3. Liu, Y., Y. Fu, Q. Wang, M. Li, Z. Zhou, D. Dabbagh, C. Fu, H, Zhang, S. Li, T. Zhang, J. Gong, X. Kong, W. Zhai, J. Su, J. Sun, Y. Zhang, X. Yu, Z. Shao, F. Zhou*, Y. Wu* & X. Tan*. 2019, Proteomic profiling of HIV-1 infection of human CD4 T cells identifies PSGL-1 as an HIV restriction factor. Nature Microbiology, 4:8132, DOI:10.1038/s41564-019-0372-2
    4. Wu, Y. and J. W. Marsh. 2001. Selective transcription and modulation of resting T cell activity by preintegrated HIV DNA. Science 293(5534):1503-1506.
    5. Meltzer, B., D. Dabbagh, J. Guo, F. Kashanchi, M. Tyagi, Y. Wu. 2018. Tat controls transcriptional persistence of unintegrated HIV genome in primary human macrophages. Virology, 518:241-252.
    6. Yi, F., J. Guo, D. Dabbagh, M. Spear, S. He, K. Kehn-Hall, J. Fontenot, Y. Yin, M. Bibian, C. M. Park, K. Zheng, H. Park, V. Soloveva, D. Gharaibeh, C. Retterer, R. Zamani, M. L. Pitt, J. Naughton, Y. Jiang, H. Shang, R. M. Hakami, B. Ling, J. A. T. Young, S. Bavari, X. Xu, Y. Feng, and Y. Wu. 2017. Discovery of Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors of LIM Domain Kinase for Inhibiting HIV-1. J. Virol. 91(13): e02418-16.
    7. Spear, M, J. Guo, A. Turner, D. Yu, W. Wang, Xi. Hu, J. Kuhn, Y. Wu. 2014: HIV-1 triggers WAVE2 phsphorylation in primary CD4 T cells and macrophages, mediating Arp2/3-dependent nuclear migration. J Biol Chem 289(10):6949-59.
    8. Wu, Y. 2014. Actin. In: Encyclopedia of AIDS. Thomas J. Hope, Mario Stevenson, and Douglas Richman, eds. Springer. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_71-1.
    9. Wu, Y. 2014. Cofilin/Traficking. In: Encyclopedia of AIDS. Thomas J. Hope, Mario Stevenson, and Douglas Richman, eds. Springer. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_69-1.
    10. Spear M. and Wu, Y. 2014. Arp2/3. In: Encyclopedia of AIDS. Thomas J. Hope, Mario Stevenson, and Douglas Richman, eds. Springer. 2014. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-9610-6_71-1.
    11. Spear, M., J. Guo, and Y. Wu. 2013. Novel anti-HIV therapeutics targeting chemokine receptors and actin regulator pathways (Invited review). Immunological Review 256(1):300-312.
    12. Wang, W., J. Guo, D. Yu, P. J. Vorster, W. Chen, and Y. Wu. 2012. A dichotomy in cortical actin and chemotactic actin activity between human memory and naïve T cells contributes to their differential susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. J Bio Chem 287:35455-35469.
    13. Vorster, J. P., J. Guo, A. Yoder, W. Wang, Y. Zheng, X. Xu, D. Yu, Spear, M, Y. Wu. 2011. LIM Kinase 1 Modulates Cortical Actin and CXCR4 Cycling and is Activated by HIV-1 to Initiate Viral Infection. J Bio Chem 286:12554-12564.
    14. Guo, J., W. Wang, D. Yu, Y. Wu. 2011. Spinoculation triggers dynamic actin and cofilin activity facilitating HIV infection of transformed and resting CD4 T cells. J Virol 85:9824-33.
    15. Maruyama, T., J. Li, J. P. Vaque, J. E. Konkel, W. Wang, B. Zhang, P. Zhang, B. F. Zamarron, D. Yu, Y. Wu, Y. Zhuang, J. S. Gutkind & W. Chen. 2010. Control of the Differentiation of Regulatory T Cells and TH17 Cells by the DNA-binding Inhibitor Id3. Nature Immunology DOI:10.1038/ni.1965.
    16. Wang, Z., Z. Tang, Y. Zheng, D. Yu, M. Spear, S. R. Iyer, B. Bishop, and Y. Wu. 2010. Development of a Non-integrating Rev-dependent Lentiviral Vector Carrying Diphtheria Toxin A Chain and Human TRAF6 to Target HIV Reservoirs. Gene Therapy DOI:10.1038/gt.2010.53.
    17. Yu, D., W. Wang, A. Yoder, M. Spear and Y. Wu. 2009. The HIV Envelop but not VSV-G Glycoprotein is Capable of Mediating HIV Latent Infection of Resting CD4 T Cells. PLoS Pathogens 5(10): e100633.
    18. Wu, Y and A. Yoder. 2009. Chemokine Coreceptor Signaling in HIV-1 Infection and Pathogenesis. PLoS Pathogens 5(12): e1000520.
    19. Iyer, S., D. Yu, A. Biancotto, L. B. Margolis, Y. Wu. 2009. Measurement of HIV-1 Preintegration Transcription Using the Rev-dependent Rev-CEM Cell Reveals a Sizable Transcribing DNA Population Comparable with that of Proviral Templates. J Virol 83:8662-73.
    20. Kelly, J., H. Beddall, D. Yu, J. W. Marsh and Y. Wu. 2008. Persistence of transcriptional activity from non-integrated HIV-1 DNA in macrophages. Virology 372(2), 300-12.

    Cofilin hyperactivation in HIV infection and targeting the cofilin pathway using an anti-α4β7 integrin antibody

    Contact Info

    Wu
    Name
    Dr. Yuntao Wu
    Job Title
    Professor
    Website
    Dr. Yuntao Wu's Research Lab
    Phone Number
    703-993-4299
    Office Number
    Discovery Hall, Room 306