Position: Research Associate

Birthday: 4th October, 1975

Nationality: Italian

Education: : Ph.D., Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of Rome “La Sapienza”

Email: ymartina@scripps.edu

The tremendous promise for clinical trials of pig tissue and cell xenotransplantation is offset by the risk of a cross-species infection. Recent evidence demonstrates that all pigs contain multiple copies/cell of endogenous C-type retroviruses (PERV). Both cell activation or stress can initiate viral replication. At least one variant of PERV (PERV-A) has been demonstrated to infect a wide range of human cell lines and primary cells. Actually a suitable animal model is lacking to investigate the risk of PERV infection. Mice have no functional receptors, thus all attempts to establish productive infection in these animals have not been successful. Permissivity to PERV has been shown in Guinea pigs, but also in this case there was no evidence of active viral expression or replication. Our aim is to develop a transgenic mouse model expressing the human PERV receptor (called HuPAR2). This will allow us to better understand and study the potential of PERV infection via the human receptors, compartmentalization, pathogenesis, viral adaptation, impact of immunosuppression and risk of spread to uninfected animals. An aspect strictly linked to the development of a good mouse model is the role of pseudotyping by Murine endogenous retroviruses (like MLVs). The MLVs are viruses present in all the mouse strains and have the ability to pseudotype PERVs or other retroviruses in vivo and in vitro. Thus, another objective of our research is to study the potentiality of pseudotyping in vivo, particularly in the animal models presently under study.

PUBLICATIONS

Yuri Martina, Sunil M Kurian, Stephanie Cherqui, Gabriel Evanoff, Carolyn R Wilson and Daniel R. Salomon. Pseudotyping of Infectious Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus Species by Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus in a Pig Islet Xenotransplantation Model. American Journal of Transplantation. August 2005. Online Early. doi:10.1111/j.1600-6143.2005.00978.x

Piersanti S, Cherubini G, Martina Y, Salone B, Avitabile D, Grosso F, Cundari E, Di Zenzo G, Saggio I. Mammalian cell transduction and internalization properties of lambda phages isplaying the full-length adenoviral penton base or its central domain. J Mol Med. 2004 Jul;82(7):467-76. Epub 2004 May 19.

Salone B, Martina Y, Piersanti S, Cundari E, Cherubini G, Franqueville L, Failla CM, Boulanger P, Saggio I.Integrin alpha3beta1 is an alternative cellular receptor for adenovirus serotype 5. J Virol. 2003 Dec;77(24):13448-54.

Di Giovine M, Salone B, Martina Y, Amati V, Zambruno G, Cundari E, Failla CM, Saggio I.Binding properties, cell delivery, and gene transfer of adenoviral penton base displaying bacteriophage. Virology. 2001 Mar 30;282(1):102-12.