Jack Stapleton, M.D. (Full Member)
Director, UI HIV/AIDS Clinic, University of Iowa
Professor, Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa
Director, Levitt Cntr Viral Patho. & Disease, University of Iowa
Director, Division of Infectious Disease, University of Iowa

http://www.int-med.uiowa.edu/Divisions/ID/Directory/JackStapleton.html

Research Interest    

The Stapleton laboratory has focused on the replication of two human flaviviruses: hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GB virus type C (GBV-C), as well as HIV. These viruses are extremely close relatives, with HCV being a major human pathogen responsible for liver disease. GBV-C, however, does not appear to cause any human disease. HCV infects liver cells, whereas GBV-C appears to infect blood cells. Both viruses cause sustained infection in humans and have been shown to continue growth in humans for more than 40 years. These two viruses are small, their genomes consisting of a single-strand of RNA, and they produce a single multiple-function protein that is cleaved into virus structural proteins and replication proteins. The two primary interests of the Stapleton laboratory include a focus on how HCV binds with and enters cells and a focus on GBV-C growth in cell culture. His group has isolated a full-length clone of the GBV-C genome and shown that this clone grows in T cells. Because GBV-C does not cause disease in humans and promotes sustained infection, Dr. Stapleton and his team have been attempting to generate recombinant GBV-C vectors capable of expressing foreign gene products. Furthermore, they are attempting to generate pseudovirions of GBV-C using VSV-binding determinants. Dr. Stapleton brings considerable basic virology and viral immunology expertise to the Center and is therefore classified under the CF-related program on Vector Development, Basic Virology, and Immune Responses.

Selected Publications:

Xiang, J., McLinden, J.H., Chang, Q., Kaufman, T.M., Stapleton, J.T. An 85 amino acid segment of the GB Virus type C NS5A phosphoprotein inhibits HIV-1 replication in CD4+ Jurkat T-cells. Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 103:15570-15575, 2006.

Wünschmann, S., Müller, H.M., Stipp, C.S., Hemler, M.E., Stapleton, J.T. In Vitro interaction between hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein E2 and serum lipoproteins (LPs) results in enhanced cellular binding of both HCV E2 and LPs. J. Infect. Dis, 194:1058-1067, 2006.

McLinden, J.H., Kaufman, T.M., Xiang, J., Chang, Q., Klinzman, D., Engel, A.M., Hess, G., Schmidt, U., Houghton, M., Stapleton, J.T. Characterization of an immunodominant antigenic site on GB virus C glycoprotein E2 that is involved in cell binding. J. Virol., 80:12131-12140. 2006.

Kaufman TM, McLinden JH, Xiang J, Engel AM, Stapleton JT. The GBV-C envelope glycoprotein E2 does not interact specifically with CD81. AIDS 21:10451048, 2007.

Publications from PubMed