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Biology Research Professor Chiung-Yu
Hung, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Research Interest Mechanisms of fungal virulence and vaccine development against Valley fever My research is focused on studies of virulence factors of Coccidioides spp. which are infectious fungi. Coccidioides can cause a respiratory disease in healthy individuals as well as immunocompromised patients. In the United States there is an estimated 40,000 yearly cases of coccidioidal infection and it is considered to be a reemerging infectious disease. My research interest is in the identification and characterization of dominant antigens of Coccidioides spp. which elicit innate inflammatory response or stimulate acquired immunity to infection with the fungal pathogen. Studies of the interaction between the host and these antigens may lead to a better understanding of the course of disease, and to the identification of vaccine candidates or novel therapeutic drug targets. I am also interested in the application of biochemical, molecular, genetic, and bioinformatic techniques to the characterization of proteins involved in cell wall synthesis and degradation. Coccidioides spp. is a diphasic fungus characterized by a parasitic cycle (Fig.1) which is unique amongst medically important fungal pathogens. Cell wall synthases, hydrolases and their regulatory proteins have been proposed to play key roles in morphogenesis and, therefore, represent potential molecular targets for novel antifungal drugs.
Selected Publications Herr, R., C.-Y. Hung, and G.T. Cole. 2007. Evaluation of two homologous proline-rich proteins of Coccidioides posadasii as candidate vaccines against coccidioidomycosis. Infect. Immun, 75:5777-5787.
Hung, C.-Y., J. Xue, C.T. Cole. 2007.
Virulence
Mechanisms of Coccidioides. In Coccidioidomycosis, the 6th
International
Nosanchuk, J. D., J.-J. Yu, C.-Y. Hung, A. Casadevall, and G. T.
Cole. 2007. Coccidioides posadasii produces
melanin in vitro during
Shubitz, L. F., J.-J. Yu, C.-Y. Hung, T. N. Kirkland, T. Peng, R.
Perrill, J. Simons, J. Xue, R. A. Herr, G. T. Cole, and J. N.
Galgiani. Tarcha, E.J., V. Basrur, C.-Y. Hung, M.J. Gardner, and G.T. Cole. 2006. Multivalent recombinant protein vaccine against coccidioidomycosis. Infect. Immun. 74:5802-5813. Tarcha, E.J., V. Basrur, C.-Y. Hung, M.J. Gardner, and G.T. Cole. 2006. A recombinant aspartyl protease of Coccidioides posadasii induces protection against pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in mice. Infect. Immun. 74:516-527. Mirbod-Donovan, F., R.A. Schaller, C.-Y. Hung, J. Xue, U. Reichard and G.T. Cole. 2006. Urease produced by Coccidioides posadasii contributes to the virulence of this respiratory pathogen. Infect. Immun. 74:504-515. Cole, G.T., J. Xue, K. Seshan, P. Borra, R. Borra, E. Tarcha, R. Schaller, J.-J. Yu, and C.-Y. Hung. 2006. Virulence mechanisms of Coccidioides, p. 363-391. In J. Heitman, S. Filler, J. Edwards, and A. Mitchell, (ed.), Molecular Principles of Fungal Pathogenesis. Am. Soc. Microbiol. Press, Washington, D.C. Yu, J.-J., T.N. Kirkland, L.K. Hall, J. Wopschall, C.-Y. Hung, X. Chen, E. Tarcha, P.W. Thomas and G.T. Cole. 2005. Characterization of a serodiagnostic complement-fixation antigen of Coccidioides posadasii expressed in the nonpathogenic fungus, Uncinocarpus reesii. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43:5462-5469. Johannesson, H., J.P. Townsend, C.-Y. Hung, G.T. Cole and J.W. Taylor. 2005. Concerted evolution in the repeats of an immunomodulating cell surface protein, SOWgp, of the human pathogenic fungi Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii. Genetics 171:109-117. Hung, C-Y., K.R. Seshan, J-J. Yu, R. Schaller, J. Xue, V. Basrur, M.J. Gardner and G.T. Cole. 2005. Metalloproteinase of Coccidioides posadasii contributes to evasion of host detection. Infect. Immun., 73: 6689-6703. Xue, J., C.-Y. Hung, J.-J. Yu, and G.T. Cole. 2005. Immune response of vaccinated and non-vaccinated mice to Coccidioides posadasii infection. Vaccine, 23:3535-3544. Cole, GT., J. Xue, C.N. Okeke, E.J. Tarcha, V. Basrur, R.A. Schaller, R.A. Herr, J.-J. Yu and C.-Y. Hung. 2004. A vaccine against coccidioidomycosis is justified and attainable. Med Mycol, 42:189-216. Delgado, N., C.-Y. Hung, and G.T. Cole. 2004. Profiling gene expression in Coccidioides posadasii. ² Med. Mycol., 42:59-71. Delgado, N., J. Xue, J.-J. Yu, C.-Y. Hung, and G.T. Cole. 2003. A recombinant β-1,3-glucanosyltransferase homolog (rGel1p) of Coccidioides posadasii protects mice against coccidioidomycosis. Infect. Immun., 71:3010-3019. Cole, G. T., C.-Y. Hung, and N. Delgado. 2002. Parasitic phase-specific gene expression in Coccidioides. ASM News 68:603-611. Hung, C.-Y., Yu, J.-J., Seshan, K. R., Reichard, U., and Cole, G.T. 2002. A parasitic phase-specific adhesin of Coccidioides immitis contributes to the virulence of this respiratory fungal pathogen. Infect. Immun., 70: 3443–3456. Cole, G.T. and Hung, C.-Y. (2001). The parasitic cell wall of Coccidioides immitis. Med. Mycol., 39 (Suppl. 1): 31-40. Li, K., Yu, J.-J., Hung, C.-Y., Lehmann, P.F. and Cole, G.T. 2001. Recombinant urease and urease DNA of Coccidioides immitis elicit an immunoprotective response against coccidioidomycosis in mice. Infect. Immun., 69:2878-2887. Hung, C.-Y., Yu, J.-J., Lehmann, P.F. and Cole, G.T. 2001. Cloning and Expression of the Gene Which Encodes a Tube Precipitin Antigen and Wall-Associated ß-Glucosidase of Coccidioides immitis. Infect. Immun., 69:2211-2222. Reichard, U., Hung, C.-Y., Thomas, P.W. and Cole, G.T. 2000. Disruption of the gene which encodes a serodiagnostic antigen and chitinase of the human fungal pathogen Coccidioides immitis. Infect. Immun., 68:5830-5838. Hung, C.-Y., Ampel, N.M., Christian, L., Seshan, K.R., and Cole, G.T. 2000. A major surface antigen of Coccidioides immitis which elicits both humoral and cellular immune responses. Infect. Immun., 68:584-593. Guevara-Olvera, L., Hung, C.-Y., Yu, J.-J., and Cole, G.T. 2000. Sequence, expression and functional analysis of the Coccidioides immitis ODC (ornithine decarboxylase) gene. Gene, 242:437-448.
Patents 1. US Patent #7,262,027: Polypeptide and DNA immunization against Coccidioides spp. infections. Approval date: 08/28/2007 2. US Patent Application #11/102,217: Attenuated vaccine useful for immunizations against Coccidioides spp. infections (∆chs5 mutant), File date: 04/07/05 3. US Patent Application #11/122,421:The use of an overexpression vector, pCE plasmid, for protein production in Coccidioides spp. or Uncinocarpus reesii, File date: 05/05/05 4. US Patent Application #11/292,431: Attenuated vaccine useful for immunizations against Coccidioides spp. infections (∆cts2∆ard1∆cts3 mutant), File date: 12/03/05
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