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Yan Sun, Ph.D.

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Yan Sun, Ph.D.

About Me
Research
Publications

About Me

I had my dual bachelor degree in China Agricultural University in China and Purdue University in US. I then moved to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for PhD and University of Pennsylvania for post-doc training.

As a PhD student, I have studied the IFN antagonists of one arterivirus, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) and identified its Nsp1 and Nsp11 suppressing type I IFN production through different mechanisms.

As a postdoc and later a research associate, my research focuses on four major discoveries in regards of RSV DVGs: 1) DVGs generated during RSV infection in vitro trigger the production of type I and III IFN via an IRF1-IRF3 axis. Moreover, DVGs in mice are both immunostimulatory and essential for control of RSV replication, thereby minimizing acute lung pathology; 2) half of the hospitalized RSV infected pediatric patients in our study were DVG positive and DVG levels positively correlated with antiviral gene expression. The kinetics of DVG generated in RSV infected adults affect RSV disease severity; 3) DVGs in Sendai virus (potentially RSV) promote viral persistence by activating a MAVS-mediated response that selectively protects infected cells harboring high levels of cbDVGs from TNF-induced apoptosis; and 4) while current paradigms suggested that DVGs generated during viral replication were formed in random locations due to “errors” of the viral polymerase, I discovered that there are three hotspots within the viral genome for RSV DVG formation and modification of specific nucleotides within at least one of these hotspots can abolish DVGs formation at that location, strongly arguing against the random dogma. In the last project, I, with my collaborators, developed an algorithm to specifically identify RSV DVGs from RNA-seq dataset, equipped my lab with bioinformatic tools for future DVG studies.

Faculty Appointments

Assistant Professor - Department of Microbiology and Immunology (SMD)

Research

Publications

Journal Articles

Detection of respiratory syncytial virus defective genomes in nasal secretions is associated with distinct clinical outcomes.

Felt SA, Sun Y, Jozwik A, Paras A, Habibi MS, Nickle D, Anderson L, Achouri E, Feemster KA, Cárdenas AM, Turi KN, Chang M, Hartert TV, Sengupta S, Chiu C, López CB

Nature microbiology.. 2021 May 6 (5):672-681. Epub 04/01/2021.

Correction: A specific sequence in the genome of respiratory syncytial virus regulates the generation of copy-back defective viral genomes.

Sun Y, Kim EJ, Felt SA, Taylor LJ, Agarwal D, Grant GR, López CB

PLoS pathogens.. 2019 October 15 (10):e1008099. Epub 10/03/2019.

A specific sequence in the genome of respiratory syncytial virus regulates the generation of copy-back defective viral genomes.

Sun Y, Kim EJ, Felt SA, Taylor LJ, Agarwal D, Grant GR, López CB

PLoS pathogens.. 2019 April 15 (4):e1007707. Epub 04/17/2019.

Human Genetic Determinants of Viral Diseases.

Kenney AD, Dowdle JA, Bozzacco L, McMichael TM, St Gelais C, Panfil AR, Sun Y, Schlesinger LS, Anderson MZ, Green PL, López CB, Rosenberg BR, Wu L, Yount JS

Annual review of genetics. 2017 November 2751 :241-263. Epub 08/30/2017.

Replication defective viral genomes exploit a cellular pro-survival mechanism to establish paramyxovirus persistence.

Xu J, Sun Y, Li Y, Ruthel G, Weiss SR, Raj A, Beiting D, López CB

Nature communications.. 2017 October 68 (1):799. Epub 10/06/2017.

The innate immune response to RSV: Advances in our understanding of critical viral and host factors.

Sun Y, López CB

Vaccine.. 2017 January 1135 (3):481-488. Epub 09/28/2016.

IL-27 Limits Type 2 Immunopathology Following Parainfluenza Virus Infection.

Muallem G, Wagage S, Sun Y, DeLong JH, Valenzuela A, Christian DA, Harms Pritchard G, Fang Q, Buza EL, Jain D, Elloso MM, López CB, Hunter CA

PLoS pathogens.. 2017 January 13 (1):e1006173. Epub 01/27/2017.

Activity of Uncleaved Caspase-8 Controls Anti-bacterial Immune Defense and TLR-Induced Cytokine Production Independent of Cell Death.

Philip NH, DeLaney A, Peterson LW, Santos-Marrero M, Grier JT, Sun Y, Wynosky-Dolfi MA, Zwack EE, Hu B, Olsen TM, Rongvaux A, Pope SD, López CB, Oberst A, Beiting DP, Henao-Mejia J, Brodsky IE

PLoS pathogens.. 2016 October 12 (10):e1005910. Epub 10/13/2016.

Preparation of Respiratory Syncytial Virus with High or Low Content of Defective Viral Particles and Their Purification from Viral Stocks.

Sun Y, López CB

Bio-protocol.. 2016 May 206 (10)Epub 1900 01 01.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Mice and Detection of Viral Genomes in the Lung Using RT-qPCR.

Sun Y, López CB

Bio-protocol.. 2016 May 206 (10)Epub 1900 01 01.

Nonstructural Protein 11 of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Suppresses Both MAVS and RIG-I Expression as One of the Mechanisms to Antagonize Type I Interferon Production.

Sun Y, Ke H, Han M, Chen N, Fang W, Yoo D

PloS one.. 2016 11 (12):e0168314. Epub 12/20/2016.

Immunostimulatory Defective Viral Genomes from Respiratory Syncytial Virus Promote a Strong Innate Antiviral Response during Infection in Mice and Humans.

Sun Y, Jain D, Koziol-White CJ, Genoyer E, Gilbert M, Tapia K, Panettieri RA, Hodinka RL, López CB