Yuntao Wu, PhD, George Mason University

Dr. Wu's lab studies HIV-1 infection of human immune cells such as CD4+ T-cells and macrophages. HIV-1, the human immunodeficiency virus, attacks cells in the immune system and causes AIDS, which affects more than 30 million people worldwide. Their research focuses on viral-host interactions, as well as on the development of novel therapeutics. They have a dynamic research program, and are making ground-breaking discoveries. The lab will continuously push new frontiers in the better understanding of the virus, and thus better tools can be developed to fight the disease.

Dr. Wu's lab created the Rev-CEM cells, which serve as a reporter cell line for HIV. The cells will express GFP only upon infection with HIV. Unlike other GFP reporter HIV cell lines, there is no detectable background flouresence, leading to markedly higher sensitivity in detecting HIV infection. Conditional GFP expression is accomplished by coupling the GFP gene to a Rev Response Element (RRE), thus, only during HIV infection and expression of the Rev protein will GFP be expressed.

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