Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
(photo)

Sondra Schlesinger

Professor
Phone, office: (314)-362-2746
Phone, lab: (314)-362-2745
FAX: (314)-362-1232
email: sondra@borcim.wustl.edu

519 McDonnell Science Building
Box 8230 Department of Molecular Microbiology
Washington University School of Medicine
660 South Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63110-1093.

Research Interests | Publications | Patents


Research Interests

We are interested in the structure and replication of RNA enveloped viruses and have focused most of our efforts on one particular virus - the alphavirus, Sindbis virus. One of our objectives has been to develop this virus as a vector for introducing heterologous genes into a variety of cells. This in turn has prompted us to investigate the effects of virus infection on the host cell, in particular, mechanisms by which the virus is able to inhibit cellular protein synthesis under conditions in which the cell continues to translate viral mRNAs. We are presently devising techniques that use the Sindbis virus replicon in assays for diagnosing other viruses.

PUBLICATIONS: From 1996
Frolov, I. and Schlesinger, S. (1996) Translation of Sindbis virus mRNA: Analysis of sequences  downstream of the initiating AUG codon that enhance translation.         J. Virol. 70: 1182-1190.

Frolov, I, Hoffman, T.A., Pra´gai, B.M., Dryga, S.A., Huang, H.V., Schlesinger, S. and Rice, C.M. (1996) Alphavirus-based expression vectors: strategies and applications. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 11371 - 11377.

Frolova, E., Folov, I. and Schlesinger, S. (1997)  Packaging Signals in Alphaviruses. J. Virol: 71: 248-258.

Dryga, S.A., Dryga, O.A. and Schlesinger, S. (1997) Identification of mutations in a Sindbis virus variant able to establish persistent infection in BHK cells: the importance of a mutation in the nsP2 gene. Virology 228: 74-83.

Frolov, I., Frolova, E. and Schlesinger, S. (1997) Sindbis virus replicons and Sindbis virus: assembly of chimeras and of particles deficient  in virus RNA. J. Virol. 71:2819-2829.

Schlesinger, S. (1997) Bernard N. Fields - a biographical memoir. in Biographical Memoirs, 1997 The National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Agapov, E.V. Frolov, I., Lindenbach, B.D., Pragal, B.M., Schlesinger, S. and Rice, C.M.(1998) Noncytopathic Sindbis virus RNA vectors for heterologous gene expression.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 12989-112994.

Olivo, P.D., Collins, P.L., Peeples, M.E. and Schlesinger, S. (1998) Detection and quantitation of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) using minigenome cDNA and a Sindbis virus  replicon: a prototype assay for negative-strand RNA viruses. Virology 251: 198-205.
 
Ivanova, L., Schlesinger, S. and Olivo, P.D. (1999) Regulated expression of a Sindbis virus  replicon by herpesvirus promoters. J. Virol. 73:  1998-2005.

Frolov, I., Agapov, E., Hoffman, T.A. jr., Pragai, B.M., Lippa, M., Schlesinger, S. and Rice, C.M. (1999) Selection of RNA replicons capable of persistent non-cytopathic replication in mammalian cells. J. Virol. 73: 3854-3865.
Polo JM, Belli BA, Driver DA, Frolov I, Sherrill S, Hariharan MJ, Townsend K, Perri S, Mento SJ, Jolly DJ, Chang SM, Schlesinger S, Dubensky TW, Jr. (1999) Stable alphavirus packaging cell lines for Sindbis virus and Semliki Forest virus-derived vectors. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:4598-4603.

Ehrengruber MU, Lundstrom K, Schweitzer C, Heuss C, Schlesinger S, Gähwiler BH: (1999)  Recombinant Semliki Forest virus and Sindbis virus efficiently infect neurons in Hippocampal slice cultures. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:. 7041-7046.

Schlesinger, S. (1999) Alphavirus expression systems -promises and problems. ASM News 65: 688-695.

Schlesinger, S and Dubensky, T.W. Jr. (1999) Alphavirus vectors for gene expression and vaccines, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 10: 434-439.

Schlesinger, S. (2000) Alphavirus expression vectors in Advances in Virus Research Academic Press 55: 565-577.

Schlesinger, S. and Schlesinger, M.J. Replication of Togaviridae in FIELDSVIROLOGY, fourth edition  Lipincott - Raven Press, Philadelphia

Schlesinger S. (2001) Alphavirus vectors: development and potential therapeutic applications  invited review for Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy 1: 177-191, 2001.

Web publication: http://medicine.wustl.edu/virology/

PATENTS

Sindbis virus vectors: Patent number 5, 091,309 - with Henry V. Huang, Robin Levis, Barbara Weiss and Manuel Tsiang

Infectious Sindbis virus vectors: Patent number 5,2217,879 - with Henry V. Huang, Robin Levis, Charles M. Rice, Ping Shen and Cheng Xiong

Indicator Cell lines for detecting RNA viruses: Patent number 5,591,579 - with Paul Olivo

Silent inducible promoters and uses thereof Patent number 6,136,538

Detection of Negative-Strand viruses Patent number 6,270,958
 

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Department of Molecular Microbiology, Box 8230
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO 63110-1093 USA

Tel 314-362-7250, FAX 314-362-1232